Vice-Captain of the Mugiwara Pirates
by FireD.Rion
Summary: A normal teenage guy gets reincarnated and caught into the great pirate era. Though things get complicated, he will try his best and live a full life. The final goal is stopping the battle of marineford! In short, this is about a main character with a brother complex and a bad personality, who steps over other people for his own gains and walking his own path.
1. Prologue

Another translated work from Japanese to English. It takes a while for it to start building up, but I found the story enjoyable, and I will try to convey the humor in a way that is easy to understand.

I thought it was better to post several chapters at once so that it gets the story kind of going. Some parts that are different from canon, like who eats what fruit. Nothing that affects the main characters, but there are some minor differences. (Luffy still eats the Gomu Gomu no mi, don't worry)

There are some references to 'god', but it's more as a joke, so if anyone is offended, he only appears in two chapters.

* * *

"So, that's the reason I need you to reincarnate (*'ω' *) "

"What's the reason?"

What is this? Is it the 'Tensei' stuff that's popular in modern fanfiction?

Glancing around, I could see endless white space.

I was only a high schooler... It was such a short life...

"Anyway, you're creepy. An old guy like you shouldn't be placing (*'ω' *)s at the end of your sentences."

"Gasp! So mean! Kami-chan is shocked!"

...why is he referring to himself with a chan?

Hold on, he's Kami. He's the god? This old guy that's crouched on the ground with a depressed look?

"..."

"..."

"... Say something!"

I only ignored him for a little bit, and he's the one that yells at me!?

This jiji has such a weak mentality.

But apparently, his recoveries are fast.

The jiji that introduced himself as Kami shook his head a couple of times, before facing me.

"You died earlier than your time because of a mistake I made. So, I will let you reincarnate in a different world."

I smirked at the jiji.

"Ha! But I refuse!"

"Denial!?"

It was a line that I wanted to use for a long time.

This jiji sure is funny. Even now, he has the comical air of shock around him. I felt a dark chuckle escape me as I decided to tease him a bit.

"You can't be serious. You want me to reincarnate because I 'died before my time'? That makes no sense. This is such a cliché situation. You're Kami, aren't you? Why can't you just bring me back to life? Huh, are you useless? I can already see where this is going. You probably already decided on a world, and it's a dangerous one with a high death rate. And, the pattern is that you give me some kind of ability, whether or not it's a cheat. Am I right? Of course I am. Can't you be more creative?"

"..."

The old geezer got even more depressed. It seemed I was spot on.

I felt kind of bad for bullying him. It took a few minutes to sooth the now depressed self-proclaimed god.

Kami, who has a weak mentality but a fast recovery, stood up to face me once again...what a troublesome guy.

"Down to business" Kami met my eyes. "You're going to the One Piece universe."

"Yup. High death tolls with a lot of death opportunities."

I have full confidence that I can die at least 10 times.

...Such a sad thing to be confident in,

...? Hold on...?

"So, I'm going to give you some abilities." Kami continued as if I never interrupted.

"No, I don't want any."

"What!? You trying to die!?"

The look on his face was priceless. Why is he so surprised? What kind of a monster world is he sending me in?

"You don't need to give me any powers." I said, keeping eye contact. "More important than that, send me to a peaceful country in a normal, common family. Possibly somewhere inland and far from the ocean?"

See, I don't have to willingly jump into danger.

It's dangerous if I go out to sea, and a coastal village always faces the danger of raiding pirates. It would be tragic to be born in a country like Drum, where they had a crappy king, but not all countries are like that. Look at Alabasta and Ryugu. They had good kings.

While I like the story line and characters of [ONE PIECE], I am only a normal human. Forcefully sticking my nose into this wouldn't change anything. In such a turbulent era, a small life like mine would be spat out immediately.

"Ugh... I've never met a young person with such a lack of motivation before." Kami was mumbling.

Leave me alone.

At this stage, I can still be objective. If for any reason I interacted with a main character and it stops becoming objective, it would be so much of a hassle later on.

It's better to be reading a newspaper, saying stuff like 'oh, Enies Lobby fell', or seeing a wanted poster and saying 'man, the total bounty of the Straw hats is becoming ridiculous'. It's easier to just be a normal person.

"Fine then, you leave me no choice" Kami suddenly got a dark glint in his eyes. "...I'll just drop you off in a situation that forces you to become strong..."

"... Huh!? Wait, hold on! What are you saying!"

Even as I objected, he laughed as if he's having the most fun time of his life.

"Yes, let's do that... You'll have a sufficient talent for fighting. The more you train, the stronger you get. I'll devise a way for you to eat a devil fruit. Huh, I'll even place you in the group with a higher quality of appearances..."

"Stop, what are you doin-..."

I stopped mid-sentence. I finally noticed.

This old geezer is experiencing great amounts if enjoyment from my reactions!

What is this? Is it revenge for teasing him too much? Dammit!

"Yup, that's what we'll do... Have fun!"

"I told you to stop!"

It was no use. I was sucked into the hole that suddenly appeared on the ground.

* * *

A/N:

As the title suggests, the main character will end up as the vice-captain of the Mugiwaras, not Zoro. While I love Zoro's position as first mate, I still found this work enjoyable, and I hope you will too. I am translating this work up to what exists now.


	2. Chapter 1: The Second Life

Dammit, that Kami-jiji...

Where am I? It's dark, and I'm...submerged in warm water? wait, is this the inside of a womb? Wooow... what a rare experience...

I didn't expect the sudden pain. It hurt!? Wait, it's getting painful! Is this the exact moment that my second life starts!? Hold on, I'm not ready yet...

Oh my, I hear my own cries, the high-pitched screaming of a baby's first breath. While I'm thinking clearly in my mind, I couldn't stop the loud noise from escaping my mouth.

It's actually kind of painful. My throat is vibrating, and my chest hurts. You can't just not cry while experiencing this.

I felt myself being washed with lukewarm water. Huh, so this is what it's like. Ahh, it feels good...my cries are starting to die down too. I have a question though. The eyes of a newborn are closed, aren't they? Why can I look around...? I'm going to stop thinking too deeply about this issue.

Once I was wrapped up in a white cloth (baby cloth?), I was placed into the arms of a women with a kind smile. I think...no, she is definitely my mother in this life.

"... Hello, you"

She sounded so tired. I guess it's to be expected. She just gave birth after all. She _really_ wasn't looking good though... she was too pale.

Mom was still young. Maybe about 20 ish? She had a childish face, with long black hair and vibrant green eyes. Though she was still way too pale... she looked so happy. I understood the love that she felt towards me, her newborn son. I was immensely revealed to know that I was born wanted...it would have hurt a lot if that was not the case.

"You look just like him"

She chuckled, stroking my chubby cheek.

Him? ….. Who's 'him'? First of all, newborns are all scrunched up like monkeys. How would she distinguish who I look like? …Maybe mothers just know.

Without warning, Mom's eyes darkened.

"...I'm so sorry" She squeezed out a thin cry. "Sorry...I am so, very, sorry..."

I couldn't understand why she was apologizing. As an infant, I could do nothing but worry, and stare up at my Mom as she cried.

Detraction came in the form of loud footsteps from outside.

(What's that noise?)

I only had a moment to wonder. The door was opened with a force that threatened to send the hinges flying.

"Was it born!?"

It was a man's voice, and I thought...Is it my Dad? But probably not. This guy looks like an old man. Closer to a Jiji than an Ossan. I mean, it _could_ happen, but I don't think that's the case. Come to think of it, this Jii-san... I feel like I've seen him before...

"Who the hell let you barge in here!?"

While I was trying to figure out why he was so familiar, Mom threw her pillow. I watched in shock as it hit the guy's face.

...Mom? What happened to that fragile mood, and the kind, angel-like smile? Actually, how did you even throw that pillow while holding me in your arms? The sound effect was off too. Why did it make such a loud noise? aren't pillows made out of cotton and cloth!? Did she just use Busoshoku no Haki? Wait, just who _is_ my Mom? The Jii-san is just standing there laughing too. What are these two?

"Why can't a dad enter his daughter's room?"

"You're annoying!"

Mom is very blunt. The Jii-san looks very shocked, with a gloomy air about him. If this guy is Mom's Dad, is he my Jii-chan?

Although sustaining a wound to the heart, Jii-chan peered into my face... and his eyebrows drooped all of the sudden. Why is he smiling like that?

"Hey hey, how are you~? I'm your Jii-chan~"

He moved to pick me up as he spoke, but was prevented by Mom.

"Don't touch my son, you shitty father!"

She moved me away as far as possible from the old man, and hugged me as if to shield me. Uhh...Mom? Mom, is that your real personality? Got it, I understand.

"Lumina! I thought you understood what I as a parent feel, now that you became one yourself! What do you mean 'shitty father'!?"

Jii-chan had a sound argument. Also, a new fact. Mom's name was Lumina. Mom's frown deepened more.

"That's precisely the reason! Nothing good comes out of your involvement with kids, Dad! Are you trying to kill him!?"

Eh? What kind of disturbing line is that? Wait, is Mom actually trying to protect me? For real? Jii-chan looks like a normal doting grandpa, but... is there something I'm missing? Come to think of it, his expression tightened briefly when he first was me...I thought it was just my eyes playing a trick on me, since his expression immediately melted in that smile.

...Mom's face is pale again... her breathing is also uneven...

"Lumina! You have to rest! The doctors said the bleeding is not stopping!" Jii-chan reached out to his daughter.

What!? Is that why she was so pale?

Mom glared at Jii-chan though.

"And who's fault is that!? You're riling me up! If I die, I'll haunt you for the rest of my life!"

...But Mom, if you die, that's where your life ends. How will you haunt someone for the rest of it? To be fair Jii-chan, with your shocked, gloomy expression, Mom _was_ calmer when you weren't here. Why are these two so unfriendly?

But it was true that Mom's health was declining fast. Her complexion was getting worse, and her breathing more ragged.

People started coming in...most likely doctors and nurses, judging by their cloths. One of them took me from Mom's arms.

...I'm going to pretend I never saw Mom denying Jii-chan when he reached out to take me. I will also forget that Jii-chan looked like the world ended when I reached out, due to suspicion, for the nurse instead of him. I was carried to another room by the nurse. I never learned what happened afterwards in that room.

I should have known.

While I knew Mom's bleeding was not stopping, she was still warm and energetic. She was just having an exciting conversation. So I had assumed... I never imagined that she would die a few hours later in that very room.

I regret not paying more attention to her face, not listening to her voice closer... But by then, everything was too late.


	3. Chapter 2: D

No one told me that Mom died.

It was to be expected. An infant wouldn't understand anyway.

The first few days after I was born, though I'm not sure if that was the amount of time that passed, a few unrecognizable people took care of me. They were probably the nurses.

Then one day, Jii-chan came.

He picked me up, and carried me outside of the house. He walked up to a grave.

It was probably never his intentions. He most likely just wanted to show Mom my face one last time. But I am a reincarnation. I understood.

To be honest things didn't feel that real. First of all, being reborn was so out of ordinary, that it felt like I was still stuck floating.

But I was shocked by Mom's full name, engraved onto the cold gray stone.

Her name was [Monkey・D・Lumina]. ...One of the D! A Monkey to boot!

And I cursed myself for not making the connection sooner. The Jii-chan is Garp the Fist!

I was born as Garp's grandson? Actually, Garp had a daughter!? What!

Seriously!? Is this the power of irregularity?

It's bad...this is _really_ bad... not good...

If Mom was Jii-chan's daughter, then I can rule out the possibility of [me=Luffy]. Luffy is Dragon's son, so I was relieved. I don't want to be a Self-Insert, so that was good.

But being the grandson of Garp meant one thing. He would do things like fly me into the sky with balloons, or leave me on an abandoned island so that I could 'Be a strong marine!" Crap! He's going to kill me!

That shitty old geezer Kami... He truly threw me into an environment that would force me to be stronger...! I would have a talent for fighting...? Yeah, I would, if I'm Garp's grandson and Dragon's nephew, and a cousin to Luffy!? It's an excessively extravagant bloodline!

To top it all, if I train hard, then Garp might _really_ end up turning me into a marine. I don't want to go there, where they just repeat justice over, and over again!

Ah, Mom... Mom, you were right... Garp is not suited for raising children... He would definitely do things like that. It's worse, since the treatment that could count as abuse on first glance is something he does out of love, and caring for our future.

Even now, at this moment, Jii-chan is peering into my face with a dopey smile. No one can doubt that he was fond of his grandchildren.

"Yuwan...Become a strong marine soldier, ok?"

He said it. I was just told to 'become a strong marine'! Oh, and I see that Yuwan is my name? That's good to know.

Ah~, why wasn't I born female... Actually, no. This grandpa would probably be a doting grandpa to his granddaughter, and try to train her more. Judging by Mom's reaction, that's exactly what happened. I guess gender wouldn't change anything...

I keep recalling Mom's words.

[You look just like him]

[I'm sorry... So very sorry]

Who is 'him', and what was Mom apologizing for?

...There seems to be a lot more to this situation.

In any case, my name is Monkey・D・Yuwan.

It looks like I will have to try living through the world of [ONE PIECE].

* * *

A/N:

Jii-chan turned out to be Garp. As Yuwan assumed, he is cousins with Luffy.

His mom Lumina is an Original Character. She would be the only OC that has a major impact on the universe. I have plans for this character as well.

The next chapter will be the last chapter of Yuwan's infancy.


	4. Chapter 3: To Mt Colubo

"Take care of this kid!"

"Another one! Who's child is this one!?"

"My grandson!"

"Huh!?"

Garp, Jii-chan, carried me with an aura of pride. Were now on Dawn island, in Mt. Colubo near Fusha Village. There really was no reason to hide it. Standing in front of us now, is the bandit Curly Dadan.

...Why?

Honestly, it was not that surprising. Jii-chan is giving me to Dadan, just like he did with Ace. It's true that Jii-chan can't take care of an infant when he is busy with marine duties. Mom died, and I haven't seen nor heard about my Dad. So there really was no need to think who else could take care of a newborn.

But why is he giving me to the bandits? Why not a villager from Fusha Village? I was surprised to find out that I was born in Fusha Village. Oh, and I also met Luffy. But Luffy was... kind of small. Granted, he was bigger than me. According to Jii-chan, he is about one years old.

He was also a brat. He pulled really hard on my hair. And started laughing at me when my body began to cry. I think I was justified in feeling a little murderous. When I briefly saw Makino, I had expected to be raised here in Fusha. However, after two or three months, Garp brought me up here.

This grandpa has very twisted ideas of how to rais kids.

While I was trying hard to deny reality, Jii-chan managed to push me into Dadan's care (He was threatening them a lot).

...Can't help it, I guess. I have to become stronger. I can't just sit here and complain any longer, because I'll die if I do that. Especially with a grandpa like that. I can guarantee it!

If you really think about it, the Dadan family aren't that bad either...even if they are mountain bandits. They complained, but took care of Ace and Luffy in the end when it mattered. Didn't they cry their eyes out after Marineford?

* * *

Jii-chan went away, and Dadan was left reluctantly holding me... Sorry for the troubles Jii-chan has cost you, Dadan.

Dadan took a deep breath and called out.

"Ace! Is Ace here!?"

Huh, Ace? Wait, already?

"..."

A young boy silently approached us. He had cute little freckles and... yup, he had a deep frown with sharp eyes. Had he already gone out asking the question? Now that I think about it, how _bad_ is Rodger's infamy, really? If Luffy is one, that means Ace is four. What gives a four year old an expression like that...?

"What is that?"

That!? I'm an object now? He could have at least referred to me as who! Dadan only snorted.

"He's just like you! Garp dumped him onto me again. Ugh, why do we always end up with such nuisances?"

...Don't say things like that in front of the topic of the conversation. Maa~, I can kind of understand where she's coming from. Having to take care of an infant is quite a hassle. But still…

"This is Garp's grandson. Name's Yuwan. Apparently, he's the kid of the famous [Chiyu-Hime] Lumina."

? Lumina is Mom's name, but what's [Chiyu-Hime(治癒姫)]?...Healer princess? Ace looks surprised too. But what is she famous for? Dadan kept talking.

"The pirate [Chiyu-Hime] Lumina... She was a member of your father's crew when they reached Raftel. I never thought she was Garp's daughter..."

W・H・A・T!?

Wait, Mom was a pirate? But doesn't 'your father' mean Gold Rodger? Like, _The_ Gol・D・Rodger? Mom, what are you doing!? A pirate on Rodger's crew!? Why did you chose the ship of your Dad's greatest enemy? I don't even know where to start thinking!?

Hold on, if Ace is four now, then Rodger was executed about six years ago. The crew disbanded a year before that, and their last voyage was four years before that, so Mom was on Rodger's ship from about seven to eleven years ago?... Mom looked to be about twenty years old...

"Jiji's daughter, and that man's crew?"

Ace had a weird, contemplative look on his face. To be honest, I want to make that face too. I would be, if my face muscles were more cooperative.

But it makes sense to some extent. I understand now why Jii-chan would give me to the mountain bandits, rather than Fusha Village. Though I can't compare with Ace, who is the pirate king's son, if I am the son of a member of the legendary crew, I too would be considered a threat. Even if Jii-chan is a hero, they would still try to end me. They said something similar with Luffy and the revolutionary Dragon. Even Buggy, who seems like small fry in the beginning, hid the fact that he was part of the legendary crew. It was probably a huge deal.

"So..." Dadan spoke, as she pushed me into Ace's arms. He hesitantly, and almost fearfully cradled me closer. "You take care of him."

W・H・A・T!?(Part 2)

Is she seriously considering dumping the responsibility on a four year old child! Even Ace would feel annoyed...wait?

I was staring up at Ace's sympathetic face.

"You too...because of that man...!"

...Did he just accept me as a companion? Like a sense of comradeship?

* * *

In the end, Ace took care of me without complaint.

And with this, my second life, full of ups and downs, was started.

* * *

A/N:

Yuwan just got placed into Dadan's care.

He is an infant right now, so Ace doesn't act like he did with Luffy. This is why he just took Yuwan under his wing without complaining. I think Ace naturally has the temperament of an older brother.

This is the last of Yuwan's infancy arc. He will have grown a little more in the next chapter.

I'll have him eat a devil fruit soon.


	5. Chapter 4: Three Incidents

Long time no see. My name is Monkey・D・Yuwan, a normal person who was reincarnated into the world of [ONE PIECE]. I am three years old right now. It's been a while since I was given to the Dadan family. Nothing really important happened during those three years, so I'm skipping it.

Ace, who got me dumped onto him, took care of me diligently...He is such a good older brother! I was so moved, that I thought I would cry. Obviously, Dadan didn't just leave me to Ace all the time. At least one person was always with me when Ace was out.

Speaking of Ace, he apparently met a kid called Sabo. He told me that they were working together to gather a pirate fund. Ace promised that he would take me with him to meet him when I got older.

Sabo... I wonder what happened in the end? …I only know up to the ending of Gyojin arc, and nothing past the arrival at Punk Hazard. I think he's still alive, but...

Earlier I said 'nothing really important happened, so I'm skipping it'. That in turn, means I'm continuing now because something of importance happened recently.

Today is my third birthday. As if he timed it, Jii-chan visited on the same day. Him visiting is a happening, but isn't at the same as an incident. It's just that, every time he visits, he tries to train us.

He's really not a bad person...just over excitable. Anyway, as far as I know, he comes every year on both Ace, and my birth days. ...He would be such a great grandpa that I can look up to, if he didn't have his wild tendencies... It's so sad in many ways.

I got sidetracked.

Anyway, there is nothing strange about Jii-chan visiting on my birthday. My problem is with the gift that he brought with him this year.

When Jii-chan tried to train(bully) me, Ace went to stop him on my behalf. He ended up getting his butt handed to him, and I kind of felt bad about it. But I decided not to stop them since they had a bond, even with all the fighting. I was in the house, opening the present that Jii-chan gave me.

Dadan had gone to hide immediately after hearing about Jii-chan's arrival, so I was alone. What is he? The same as a natural disaster?

Inside of the present was a box containing a few books, and a few other small things. The box was a normal wooden one, and the books were not something ordinary three-year-olds could read. The other stuff seemed to be used, and slightly old as well.

It's to be expected. These were my mother's belongings. According to Jii-chan, he found those when he was sorting through Mom's things, and thought to give it to me.

My happenings were caused by these objects from my late Mom.

* * *

The first things I took out were the miscellaneous items.

There were mirrors, and combs, and other things that were used to keep up appearances. Maybe the designs were simple and sometimes a little plain because she was a pirate?... then again, it could have just because of her personality. Anyway, there wasn't anything that people really considered to be 'cute' in the box.

... Without thinking too deeply about it, I looked into her mirror, and froze as I saw my reflection.

I had never really seen my face until now. There were no mirrors in this house, and I didn't really need it anyway. Dadan probably had one in her room, but we aren't allowed in there. One might think the reflection could be seen on the water and glass, but I never really payed attention.

So, at three years old, I saw my face for the first time...and almost passed out.

It's not that it was ugly. In fact, it was just like that old geezer Kami had said before reincarnating me. I had a higher quality of appearance, especially considering how some looked in the [ONE PIECE] universe.

It's just that...I had a _really_ bad feeling about this... This face... It reminds me of...

Thinking back on Mom's past, and her words as I was born... No way, am I...

Nope! I'm not going to think about it! Perish that scary thought!

I'm overwhelmed as it! The grandson of Garp, little brother to Ace, and cousin to Luffy. I don't need all of these extra settings! Don't pile on even more! Forget it, me. Perish all thought, and lock it in a corner where I would never find it!

I decided to put that thought on hold at the moment.

* * *

The next thing I looked at was a book. Normally, a three-year-old wouldn't be able to read it, but I can understand what kind of book it was, at least.

Two fictional books, a book about navigation and another on medicine, and a small collection of maps. It was all fine so far.

The second incident was with the last thick book.

The last one was Mom's journal. It was not even a normal one. It was a journal, written during the years that Mom was a pirate.

You might ask, how is that a bad thing? Just think back and remember. Mom was part of the legendary crew. Even by just flipping through the pages, names like Rodger, Rayleigh, and Crocus made regular appearances. Things about their nakama at the time, their travels, and islands they stopped on were written.

It didn't go into detail of every day. There were pages where it said "Today was a peaceful day where nothing happened". There were others that said things that didn't really matter, like "Today's lunch was curry, and it was amazing". Other days, there were nothing written.

Some things that were written, though, made me gasp in surprise.

For example, one of the pages I found opened with the line "I asked Captain about Sky Island". When I read it out of curiosity, facts about the Sky Island was written in detail. 'There's this cool thing called dials', or 'Captain has a friend called Gan Fall who's a god'. Apparently, Mom heard about Sky Island while she was on Rodger's ship, and wrote down the stories that they told her.

One of the things that surprised me was what was written about was the large bell tower on Sky Island, and about the poneglyphs. She even wrote about the ancient weapon Poseidon, and that it's something that can control the Sea Kings and that its somewhere on Gyojin Island...

...What _is_ this troublesome diary!? If this is what's written about poneglyphs, then what did she write about Raftel!? Did Jii-chan even check this diary!?...Probably not. Even with a personality like that he's still a marine. If he checked it beforehand, he would have either destroyed it or turned it in. He definitely would not have given it to his grandson.

Anyway, I'm going to set this aside too. I'll think more about it on a later date.

* * *

The final box that I opened... This was the one that caused the most problematic incident.

It was a normal looking box. The box was not the problem, though. It was what I found inside of it.

"..."

In front of me was a swirly patterned purple apple. Yeah, this can't be anything other than a devil fruit.

I mean, if you think about it logically, it's not so far-fetched to think Mom owned a devil fruit. I mean, even if it was rare, she would have had a lot of chances to obtain one, sailing through the grand line. She probably found one, and kept it without eating it.

That old geezer Kami... Is he telling me to eat it? Is this his planning?

...All right.

"I'm going to sell it."

Why would I eat this? I'm not letting him decide my life. Even if I can't decide my family or appearance, I can control this. I am going to store this fruit, and sell it later. I remember hearing somewhere that if I sell it, it would cost about a hundred million...That's a lot of money.

I'll say this again.

I would never eat this thing! Never!

I silently told myself, and put the fruit back into the box.

...I should have known the universe doesn't work like that.

* * *

(Translated)A/N:

Yuwan is now Three years old. The devil fruit is for next chapter.

Yuwan's appearance will be important later. He is still kind of denying reality, but he will meet a person in a few years that will force him to see reality, so that is when things will become clearer.

When Rodger visited Sky Island is unknown (Gun Fall only said "about twenty years ago"), so I made it so that Lumina's never gone there, but she's heard stories about it.

Translator's/N: I am leaving due to personal business on Friday, and will have to take a break. I will post as much chapters as I can translate until then, but anything beyond that will have to come in December.


	6. Chapter 5: Devil Fruit

"Dammit, that shitty gramps..."

Ace muttered darkly, with scratches and bruises across his body. I felt bad, because he basically took the blows for me. This was why I was wiping the affected areas with wet towels. Gramps went back to work already, so he's not here.

"You okay Ace?"

I still can't speak as clearly as I want. I mean, my body is still three, even if the inside is like this. I can't help it.

Ace put his thumbs up, and made a good sign with his hand, smiling brightly at me.

"Of course! I'm strong, so I'm okay!"

...I pretended not to notice the bruises on his arms, and the painful shaking of the limbs. For his pride as an older brother.

Thank you, Ace. I won't forget your sacrifice.

"You guys okay?"

Dogra stuck his head into the small room we were sitting in. Ace ignored the small man, but I smiled at him. Common courtesy is important after all.

"Yup. Right, Ace?" Ace only glanced at Dogra. At least he didn't openly glare at him today.

"Here, Yuwan. A present from the boss."

I was so surprised, I forgot to answer the man. While it has only been three times, this was the first ever birthday present that Dadan has given me.

"Don't want it?" Dogra asked.

"Eh, ah, um, ... Thanks...?" It ended up turning into a question, but it doesn't matter. I feel really moved by the simple fact that Dadan _gave_ me a birthday present. The gift was a plate of cut fruit. Dogra left, as I accepted the fruit.

"Do you want some too?" I asked, fully aware of Ace's appetite, even this early in his life. To my surprise though, Ace shook his head, and pushed the plate closer to me.

"No, it's fine. I won't take another person's present just to fill my stomach."

*sniff* what a kind smile *sniff*...

"Hmm. Well, Itadakimasu."

She even stuck little toothpicks into each piece. I wonder what this is? It's about as hard as an apple, but the color of the inside is red.

I should have stopped eating then.

I popped one into my mouth, and then...

I threw up at how bad the taste was.

"Yu-, Yuwan!?"

Ace gently rubbed my back, face filled with shock. He then took a piece of the fruit, licked it, and...

"Ugh!" He spat out in disgust.

Hold on. Wait a moment.

①Weird looking fruit that resembles an apple.

②Tastes awful.

③What was that present I got from Jii-chan again?

There is only one answer to this question...

"Dadaaaaaaan!"

I saw Ace run furiously into the main room. In his right hand was his metal pipe. Crap, Ace is pissed!

Ace, while insanely strong, was still seven. The Dadan family, even with their personalities, are still mountain bandits. Nothing good will come out of a serious conflict between them.

I shakily stood, and chased after them. The disgusting taste was a bit too much for my young body. When I finally got to the main room, Ace was standing in front of Dadan with his pipe ready.

"What the hell did you feed him!"

His fierce expression was really impressive. Is he using Haki?

But really. Ace has a point. If my body stopped moving the way I want it to, I will definitely be on Ace's side. ... when my head stops hurting, feet stops wobbling, and when my tongue regains its feelings. I am kind of angry too!

"I cut fruit for him, ungrateful brat! What's up with you!"

"Hey Dadan, about that..." I calmed myself down as much as possible, and smiled at her. It seems like humans smile when they are really angry. Who would have thought? (＾◇＾)

Oh, Dadan. Don't be silly. Why are you shrinking back from my smile more than you did with Ace's snarls?

"That fruit... Where and what was it?" I asked her.

"I-it was in the box over there. It looked kind of like an apple."

Yup, just as I expected!

"Hey, Dadan... I really want to tell you some things"

"Wh, what is it?"

My smile deepened at her willingness to listen.

"You know, Jii-chan gave me that box today. So that was mine, and I don't think it counts as a present if you just reuse the same thing. Is it recycling? Why are you calling it a present? And to think I was so happy at getting a present from you. Do something about my amazement. Three million berry will do. Eh? You can't pay it? Even if it's only that much? Huh, such a waste. But I'll forgive you for that. If I think about it, it can't be helped if I just left it there. That was partially my fault so I'll let it go. But why did you feed me such a suspicious fruit? Are you trying to kill me? What, do you want me to die? Why didn't you say so, just to it in a straightforward way. Here, use this." I pulled Ace's pipe out of his hand, ignoring his dumbfounded look, and extended it to Dadan, but she wouldn't take it.

" What, you can't do it? Then why did you feed me that. Are you an idiot? Or was I the poison tester? Hey, maybe you should try a piece too. There is a lot more of it left. It's taste testing. Or, what, you made me poison test something as my present? What a doosh."

"Yuwan, calm down... Dadan's heart has already sustained grave damage."

...Huh? Why am I being pacified by Ace, who was so angry a second ago?

I asked him about it later, to which he replied that "Having a person who is gently smiling at you also spit out words like poison endlessly, kind of hurts more than just being yelled at. It got to the point where I felt pity for your opponent."

This is the largest incident that happened on my third birthday. It turned out, that I couldn't escape my fate of eating a devil fruit.

* * *

A/N:

Yuwan is a surprisingly crafty and malicious when he wants to be. He's the type that will stab your heart multiple times with words like poison, all while smiling.

It would be beyond the point of scary and to the point of creepy if there were actual three-year olds who could endlessly talk like this. Sorry that it's hard to read these parts.

The explanation of the fruit he ate will be the next chapter.


	7. Chapter 6: Kami, Once Again

Chapter 6: God, Once Again

A/N: This is the last time that 'god' will make an appearance.

Good evening everyone. This is Yuwan, who mistakenly ate a devil fruit out of carelessness.

And so.

"Why the hell are you here!?"

"Ouch! Hey, stop tha-...!

＊＊One Moment Please＊＊

"What a child... kicking Kami-Chan, who he hasn't seen for three years..."

"You want to be kicked again?"

"I'm sorry."

Right now, sitting in front of me is that old geezer Kami. Why is he still using chan as a suffix?

"And? I thought I went to sleep peacefully. What do you want now?"

Why am I in this white space again? He's not going to ask me to reincarnate somewhere else, is he?

"Right, you are sleeping right now. This is in your dream. See, you can speak clearly because this is in your spirit."

That's true. My words come out smoother. Then what _does_ he want...?

Apparently, my question showed on my face, because he straightened up a bit.

"So I thought I should tell you about your devil fruit a little more. There doesn't seem to be anyone around you who can, so think of this like some kind of aftercare."

That's true. ...I mean, Jii-chan might know something, but I don't really want to tell him about my devil fruit. He would be annoying about it.

"Fine, what was it that I ate?"

If I had a choice, I would want a Logia type, but that may be asking for too much. Some kind of flight Zoan type would be fun.

"Well~~"

The old geezer started flipping through his notes. ...Why didn't you check before coming here?

"Here we go, you ate the [Paramecia type Mini- Mini fruit]"

...Huh? I don't mind Paramecia, but ... Mini- Mini? What's that?

"Long story short, it's a shrinking fruit. It lets you shrink objects you touch as small as 1/100 of its original size. Conversely, you cannot shrink something you can't touch. Like air and the amount of damage. You can only use it on solid objects. It's really simple if you think about the Noro- Noro fruit. It sends out a beam that fires particles which slow people down upon contact. You're just attaching the particles by physical contact."

Eh... that's an iffy power...

"Don't make that face at me. It all depends on how you use it. Look at the Gomu- Gomu no mi. It's not a strong power to begin with either."

I know that. The strength it can yield only depends on how you use it. But I went through the trouble of reincarnating... I could have gotten something a little cooler...

"That's why I told you to choose one you like before I reincarnated you."

Old geezer Kami sighed, as if it's all my fault.

"I _Asked_ you to send me to a normal family in a safe country! You ignored everything I said!"

I'm stuck in a situation where I have to run the path that's the complete opposite of safe and normality.

What am I going to do...? Ace is a precious person in my life now... he practically _raised_ me... I know the Summit war is going to happen... What is there that I can do about it?

"Well, good luck! It will be what it is!"

The old geezer smiled, with a shine next to his smile. He even had the audacity to make a thumbs up sign at me.

"Oh, is there anything else you wanted to ask me? There are no other chances like this."

Anything I want to ask?... I have a lot!

"Ok, first of all. Why was Mom on Rodger's ship?"

Why that specific ship? The geezer flipped through his notes again.

"It seems... She wanted to get away from her dad, who tried to make her into a marine through 'training'. She started to respect pirates, and sneaked into a marine ship, then jumped into the Oro Jackson when they were fighting. Apparently, she stayed there and became a pirate."

Mom... I had guessed as much but... wow. That sounds like something Luffy would do. I wanted to know why she chose her dad's 'nemesis', but I guess now that she went there _because _he was her dad's enemy. During a fight. What a way to join. The people on the crew must have been surprised too.

And then there is Jii-chan. I knew he was 'training' with his daughter! It's all his fault! What, is he trying to succeed with his grandchildren, where he failed with his children? He sucks at raising children! One pirate, the other a revolutionary.

...wait.

"If she wanted to get away from her dad... then why was I born in Fusha Village?"

I mean, Jii-chan was there that day too. What, she ran away from home to be a pirate, but came back for childbirth?

"That would be because of her wanted poster." The geezer lightly replied. "Your mom had a bounty as a regular pirate, and it was increased by her being on the legendary crew. Well, the issue was also with her abilities. The point being, she couldn't blend into villages or towns. That's why she held back her tears, and begged her father to provide a safe place to give birth in. He listened to her for the child that was about to be born."

...meaning, Mom did it for me.

Yeah…. I thought something like that happened, since it seemed like Mom loved me, and Jii-chan was a person that listened to a captured Rodger and took Ace under his wing (supposedly. Maybe. Probably).

But 'holding back tears'? How much did she hate him? At this point, it's getting kind of sad.

Hmm... Maybe I'll try to make him proud... I'm still not joining the Marines, though.

As I was thinking deeply, the geezer tilted his head. (ew, not cute at all)

"Huh, I thought you were going to ask about your fath-"

"I don't want to hear it!"

"But, aren't you a little bit curio-"

"Not in the slightest!"

"... Your face"

"Shut up!"

Stop, don't put any more information into head! It doesn't concern me! I don't need any more on my plate!

I...I am just Garp's grandson!

... Even if the word 'just' doesn't apply to me that much anymore.

Even if I'm running away from reality. Say what you want, I still don't know anything!

"..."

"..."

We continued to silently stare down for a while, but the geezer broke first.

"...Anything else?"

Yes, I won!

"Of course I do. But it's ok. It will just make me tired. I'll figure it out on my own."

"Well... Then, I'm going home"

I smirked at him.

"Yes, go home. And never come back!"

"Aren't you a little too cold?"

"It's just your imagination."

Not really. His existence is tiresome. I need a lot more energy than I want to use to deal with this. This was how I ended the meeting with old geezer Kami.

...Really, don't come back.

* * *

A/N:

Kami strikes again, but this is the last time he will show.

Yuwan's abilities are like this for a reason. It is not a strong power (It doesn't really do damage to others), but it is a useful one in its own way. Anyway, it emphasizes the theme that seemingly useless abilities can be powerful when used correctly.

Some more development with Lumina. While she is already dead, she is definitely a key character.

Translator's A/N: Sorry Evergone the Great, but the concept of steam or viper is really interesting. I may consider them if I make future stories.


	8. Chapter 7: Goal

After hearing about my devil fruit from the old geezer, I started training to control my powers. During the course of one year, I was able to shrink anything I touch 1/10 of their original size.

Come on, me. You can do it! The goal is the smallest, 1/100! I just have to practice!

There is another thing I've been doing over this year. I read through Mom's diary.

...Truthfully, it was one heck of a diary.

There was nothing on Raftel, and the Rio・Poneglyphs. More precisely, they were gone.

The pages of the last voyage of the Rodger pirates, the days that coincides with their arrival at Raftel, are missing. Someone ripped them out. Whether it was Mom, who thought this really wasn't something to keep in a diary, or someone else sneaking it out, I don't know.

But everything else was written pretty clearly, and in detail. It contained some of Mom's opinions, sure, but that's to be expected. It's a diary, after all.

Reading through the large book, I found out that she _was_ twenty when she gave birth to me. On Rodger's crew, her position was that of an apprentice. ... Apprentice...yeah... No, stop thinking along that line, Yuwan.

Mom also continued pirating after the disbanding of the Rodger Pirates. There were things written about that time to. Pirate... moreover, the pirate crew that she was part of... wait no, stop thinking Yuwan. Don't dig up anymore new information.

The diary continued on till a few days before my birth, or the day of Mom's death. Mom was never a really good at writing, but she was consistent.

There were pages written about how crazy the Grand Line was, about Haki and Rokushiki, the Shichibukai, Tenryuubito, Gyojin and human history, ancient weapons, and poneglyphs. There were many facts and events I knew because I read the series, but I would easily think these were made up stories if I hadn't.

But because of this, it wouldn't be strange if I have some knowledge about the timeline.

I can't tell the future, but I can say talk about the past by saying "This and that event happened before ", or drop warnings and hints by saying "There used to be some event that went like this, so if I combine it with what I know now, I can predict that this will happen". This diary is really thick, so it would take more than one or two days to read through it. And if I say I don't want other people reading it because it's one of the only things left by my Mom, most people will stay away from it. Then, I can talk about things that I wouldn't have known otherwise, and say that "It was written in the diary", and I would get away with some of it.

This might be a very useful item...

* * *

Why am I thinking about this now?

To be truthful, I don't want to be involved in troublesome situations. I wanted to live a quiet life. But that wish probably won't come true because of Jii-chan. So, I think I should train up and go to sea. I haven't decided whether I should be a pirate, or a pirate hunter, but I still have some time to decide.

My final goal is頂上戦争, the Summit war. More specifically, saving Ace.

Right now, Ace is already my older brother, a person who raised me, and one of my precious people. I won't stand by and watch him get murdered. I can't.

Most likely, if I remain a spectator, the story will continue on as it has in canon. It has so far according to the diary, even with the irregularity of Lumina.

Dammit... I wanted to be reincarnated into a peaceful village far from the ocean _because_ of these thoughts. It's too late to do anything about it now, but still...

I alone would never be able to stop such a big war. Therefore, my only goal is to not let Ace die. Nothing more, nothing less.

If I think about it logically, if saving Ace is my only goal, then I could join the marines. Betray them from the inside would be much more effective. But I don't want to. I won't be able to stand it there mentally. Being a marine is not for me. I'm really not one for justice, and I don't want it to be pushed onto me either.

Anyway, knowledge about the canon timeline is a huge advantage. Moreover, it is one that only I have. But doing things alone will have its limitations. Manipulating the surroundings, and other people. That is what will get me to my goal.

To do this, there may be times that I will be forced to use my previous knowledge. At times like that, the paths that I can take are prophesying or deducing. Prophesying will take away trust from me if I get even one thing wrong. But deducing gives me some leeway.

Diary and Canon knowledge. If I use these to my advantage, I can make some _very_ accurate deductions.

Well, I can think about the smaller details and hard stuff later.

What I need to think about now is how to get stronger. In this great pirate age, if I am not strong, I will die the moment step off the island.

I'm physically about four now. It's probably Ok to start training my body.

Ace has been offering to take me to Gray Terminal. I guess my short-term goal will be to be able to beat at least some of the beasts on Mt. Colubo. Might as well start now.

* * *

A/N: This chapter was basically about Yuwan making decisions, and accepting his fate. He will start training to be stronger.


	9. Chapter 8: Meeting Sabo

Ace pulled me along through the mountain, where there were no human paths. It took us a few hours of walking, but we finally made it to gray terminal.

"It's your first time, so we walked one of the easier paths..."

I see... that was the easier path...

I was breathing with my shoulders, and on the verge of passing out if I don't sit down. Ace, who glanced at my breathing, sighed deeply.

I... I feel so pitiful... who said 'be able to beat at least some of the beasts on Mt. Colubo' just a few days ago? Me. Ugh.

First of all, I lack stamina. I mean, I understand. For all intents and purposes, I am still a four-year-old child, and what's important still lies ahead. Even so... impatience derives out of my knowledge of the future.

* * *

There is a person we would obviously meet if we go to the gray terminal. That person is Sabo, who is currently standing in front of me.

"Is this the one you were talking about? Yuwan?"

Sabo looked me over head to toe, observing me thoroughly. It honestly wasn't a good feeling, but his eyes had no ill intention, so it was bearable.

"Yep! My little brother!" Ace replied, without hesitation, grinning.

Huh... little brother... I mean, it's true, and I am glad. But, it's kind of embarrassing in a good way. I didn't have siblings before. This feels good.

Sabo grinned back. Oh, his teeth was chipped this early too.

"I'm Sabo, nice to meet you. Ace talks a lot about you. I heard you're scary when you're angry?"

"...My name is Yuwan, nice to meet you too. Ace talks about you too... but what do you mean, scary?"

My pronunciations and speaking got better dramatically over the year.

But that's not what matters now. What do you mean if I get angry?

Ace smirked at me a little when he caught my accusing gaze.

"Last year was something else. What, did you do it subconsciously?"

The anger last year. Does he mean that incident? When I accidentally ate the devil fruit? ...was it _really_ that scary? I guess you can't really tell on your own.

* * *

Sabo was a cool person. Even if he was older (physically), he didn't lord it over me, and had told me to loosen up. I was a little tense at meeting someone other than Ace, so I was a bit relieved.

And now. I am showing my abilities.

"One Tenth!"

I shrunk Ace and Sabo to the smallest I could reach now, 1/10.

"See, Sabo! Isn't this cool!?"

Ace started bragging, as if it was his own feats. What got Ace so excited to this point was not because of their shrunken size.

"This _is_ really cool! I've never seen meat this big!"

In front of the shrunken duo was the meat that we brought with us for lunch.

I can make things smaller, but not larger. Ace was bummed out about it, since he had hoped to make meat bigger to increase the amount they had to eat.

You know it's _my_ abilities, right? Why was Ace getting depressed about that? I'm the one who wanted to get depressed.

How am I even going to utilize this in a fight? I was pondering on that thought when it hit me one day.

Setting aside fighting, instead of making the food larger, why not make the one eating it smaller?

For example.

If I shrink an eight-year-old, with the height of about 140 cm down to 1/10, then the height would be about 14 cm. The boned meat we brought was about 30 cm. It's not an impressive size normally, but looking at it from a 14 cm tall person, the meat is larger than their height. It would be such a satisfying hunk of meat to eat.

It was a hit. Ace was immensely satisfied.

I myself don't have that much of an appetite, but what the Dadan family provided for me was not enough, so this is a skill that I'm kind of proud of. I am a D, after all. All Ds and Ds by association eat a lot. It's a thing.

But ... Think about it.

It's a huge meat, larger than your own height! It's a guy's romance! Look, Ace and Sabo are munching away, clinging to their (to them) huge chunk.

Right now, I'm eating at my normal size. It's not that I'm not hungry. I'm just tired from the long walk here.

...I got sidetracked.

Anyway, what I wanted to say was that my abilities might be useful more during everyday life things, rather than in battle.

* * *

I looked up at the sky, chewing on my meat and thinking.

What I really need now is stamina, and to build up my body. It's probably not a fair comparison against Ace, who is four years older, and has been coming here every day. But it's not ok to leave it like this. It's embarrassing if one looks absolutely fine, while the other is famished when they walked the same path. I need to get stronger.

I have a goal now. I can't just leave it as a passive 'Get strong enough to survive Jii-chan's training' goal. I have to work for it, as a 'Get strong enough to complete my objective' goal. Otherwise, I can't hope to change the future. There is no guarantee that I can change it even if I worked hard, so I have to live my life to the fullest with and make the very best of every opportunity I get.

Anyway... I will get stronger! Whatever it takes!

* * *

A/N: Yuwan has now met Sabo. They have both been hearing stories about each other from Ace for the past couple of years, so they get along fine.

Next episode is Yuwan's training, and one event before meeting Luffy.


	10. Chapter 9: What happened on the Run

It has been about two years since I've first been introduced to Sabo. My abilities training has been going well. I can make things down to 1/50 of their original size.

For my physical training... well, I built myself up.

Running, sit-ups, pushups, squats... I added repetitions every day, and gradually increased the amount I could do.

And in the end, my hard work paid off. Continued effort is strength!

Actually, the training was going abnormally well... I feel like the cheat code of the [ONE PIECE] world is taking effect. The old geezer had said that my strength will only increase with every effort and training I put into it.

I actually got use to going between Mt. Colubo and Gray Terminal. I've started helping Ace steal and collect things for our pirate fund for a little more than a year now.

But I still can't win against Ace and Sabo. I lose every time I go to fight them.

... It's fine, I'm still building up my strength. I'm still working on building up my strength for fighting... I'm sorry, I'm a bit frustrated. I still have a long way to go.

Another short-term goal I have is mastering Rokushiki! Especially Geppo. Sky Walking is so cool! Stuff about is was written in Mom's diary, so it's not weird for me to know about it. I kind of understand how they work too, so I think I can work with it.

I couldn't figure out how to learn Haki. It wasn't written in the diary, and canon never explicitly had directions on how to learn it. But I want to for something about it... Otherwise, I can't figure out what else to do about the Logia types. I mean, I can utilize their elemental weaknesses, like Crocodile and water, or Enel and rubber. But figuring it out during a fight takes effort, and I would need to have the weakness on hand. I guess I'll just try harder.

I've also tried fighting the wild beasts. Well, it's more like hunting than fighting. Any animals we get this way comes back with us and onto our plates anyway.

It wasn't really favorable end though. I was only able to help Ace get the thing. There is still much to learn.

You might think I could just make my opponents smaller with my powers. But in reality, there is a time lug that happens when I use my powers. There is no problem if what I'm shrinking is a plant, or someone who wants to be smaller like Ace when he's eating. But if it's against a living opponent, then I have a problem. The smaller I try, the longer the time lug... even if returning it to its original size is immediate. Using it now will just cost me my victory.

...I actually tried it against a wild boar, and got sent flying. I actually thought I was going to die. It was really lucky that I didn't hit anything important.

I'm still trying to figure out if I train my powers more, my time lug would become shorter.

Recently, we've had more chances to eat different dishes. We started to go to restaurants in the Goa kingdom. We only fried or boiled things at Dadan's, so I was very happy about it.

... Of course, its dining and dashing. It's scary how I've started to lose reservations against dine and dash.

Every few days, we go into town to dine and dash... This is what happened on one of those days.

* * *

"They're running away!"

The waiter was angrily shouting behind us, while we ran as fast as we could. Sorry, we'll pay you back some day on a treasure tab! ...wait, he's coming after us!?

Dammit, they usually give up once we get this far!

"Hey, we're splitting up!" Ace suggested as we ran. "Sabo, I'll lead them away. Take Yuwan and go on ahead!"

"Got it!"

I hate that I'm being protected, but it can't be helped. I'm the slowest in our group. Well, if we think about our age, I'm pretty fast. But comparing it to these two, and if we're running from this guy, I'm definitely the slowest.

"This way, Yuwan!"

Sabo pulled my arm, and we turned into an ally and ran as fast as we could.

* * *

We continued running, and finally stopped about ten minutes later.

"You think Ace will be alright? I asked Sabo, breathing heavily. Sabo shrugged.

"It's Ace. He'll be fine, don't worry about it."

Yeah, that's about what I figured too. I'm actually more worried for the waiter. I hope Ace didn't beat him up too bad. We _were_ the ones in the wrong, after all.

"What, should we look for him? Or go back to Gray Terminal?"

It would be a hassle if we wandered around, and they find us again. Sabo looked to be thinking the same thing.

"Let's go back. He did tell us to go on ahead."

We went with that decision, and left the town... Whether that choice was the correct one or not, I don't know.

* * *

Ace came back a _lot_ later than we did.

What surprised us was that Ace looked battered. Ace thankfully didn't have any large injuries. Most were small cuts and bruises across his whole body.

"Ace, what happened!?" Sabo's eyes were wide... But Ace was in a really bad mood.

"... Nothing."

Yeah no, that's a lie! No one will believe someone who is so battered and angry but tells them that it was nothing!

"Did you get caught by that Ossan? Did he beat you up?"

But that doesn't sound right. He wouldn't have come back if that was case. And his bad mood wasn't a 'I'm irritated because I got caught' mood. It was more like 'something really upsetting happened' mood.

Ace looked at me, then smiled... It clearly was a forced one.

"I said nothing happened. ...Yuwan, let's go. See you later, Sabo!"

"Eh, wh- wait, Ace!?"

Sabo seemed a bit alarmed at his quick retreat, but Ace grabbed my arm, and pulled me along.

"... See you Sabo!"

I debated with myself, but decided not to ask in the end.

Ace wouldn't answer me even if I did. That's because to Ace, I am someone to protect. Me being the younger brother, he would never show me weakness, or hurt. In this case... I think I will ask someone else to do it for me.

Good luck or bad, its nearing that time of year anyway.


	11. Chapter 10: How to Manipulate Jii-chan

"And that's what happened. Please, Jii-chan?"

From that day we dined and dashed... Ah, we've done a lot of dining and dashing in our lives, but that's not important. It's been a few days since Ace came back with injuries. Today is my sixth birthday.

As I predicted, Jii-chan showed up. I talked to him about what happened, and convinced him to ask Ace what had happened.

Oh, I hid the bit about dining and dashing, so that's ok.

...Really, at this point, Jii-chan is the best person for the job. He is an unreasonable person, but I know that he cares about us.

Jii-chan wore a difficult expression, and patted my head.

"I understand, leave it to me."

"Really!? Thanks, Jii-chan! I love you!"

I smiled my best Luffy inspired smile, jumped on to hug him. Then...

"! You, you love me!? I see, I see!"

Jii-chan's face immediately melted into one of his dopey smiles. Yeah, that's what I predicted will happen.

Jii-chan... You really want to be 'loved by your grandsons', don't you...?

I'm not lying when I said I love him. But it's embarrassing to actually say it out loud. I'm an adult now on the inside! It's hard to go saying stuff like that!

Oh, maybe I should take some precautions.

"Actually ask him, ok? Don't be unreasonable like always. If you do something weird to Ace, I'll hate you!"

I tried my best frown, puffing my cheeks out. Honestly, I can only use this method when I'm this young.

"H-Hate!? Wait Yuwan, I don't do weird things..."

"I'm just telling you not to punch him, swing him around, or throw him."

"...It's because I want you brats to be stronger that I train..."

"Don't do it, ok?"

I smiled and 'asked', and Jii-chan readily agreed with me.

* * *

Well, well, well.

I'm hiding behind a tree right now, listening to Ace and Jii-chan's conversation.

Jii-chan was serious, for once, when he said leave it to him. He asked Ace, just like he promised, and Ace spoke little by little.

What happened was a short story.

It was short, but was also deep.

After letting us go ahead, Ace lured the restaurant waiter far, then lost him when he saw the chance. He was heading back to Gray Terminal when he overheard a conversation in an old back-alley pub.

The conversation was about the late Pirate King, Gold・Rodger.

What was worse, they were talking about what would happen if [Rodger had a kid] for some reason.

It was definitely not a clean pub, and the conversation was between some drunk Ossans. It must have been really bad.

I think you already might have guessed, but yeah. It was that incident from canon.

『If Gold Rodger had a kid?』

『Off with his head, I say!"』

『What say we shove a needle in that kid. . . . For every person who hates Rodger? 』

『Let's burn him at the stake! Right before he dies the whole world will laugh! 』

『Aye! Everyone is sure to say, 【It serves you right】 Ha ha ha ha! 』

『I want his last words to be, 【I'm sorry for being born the trash I am】!』

Ace had gotten angry, and pounded them to the ground. But there were a lot of people there, so he also sustained some injuries.

Disgusting.

Ace probably had heard a lot of similar things before. It's not directly, but still. Otherwise, he wouldn't hold such a bad complex.

The drunk person who is talking doesn't even know the child exists. But it's not like you can say don't worry about it, just because they didn't know. It still leaves marks to the heart for the actual topic of the conversation. He is not old enough to be able to let the conversation go, either.

Ace being hurt and angry is expected.

But I... I'm actually a bit annoyed at Ace as well.

Reading the series, it really bugged me. The one line that Ace said. I mean, it must have been important to him, and it can't be helped for Ace to have such a mindset... But still...

"Jiji..."

Still hiding behind the tree, I heard, maybe for the first time, Ace's meek and insecure voice.

Oh, it's coming, he's going to say it. That one line.

"Was it good... that I was born...?"

There it is, the _really_ negative line!

I think the negative hollow wouldn't work on Ace right now. Hey, Perona, Usopp may not be the only one to be able to shake off your attack.

... Yeah, no. I tried to joke about it to calm myself down, but it doesn't seem to be working(＾ω＾)

Ace, you're making me _very_ angry! I've lived for six years with him, but this is the first time I've ever been this pissed off at him.

Alright, I've decided. We're going to have a long, serious _talk_ about this!

I put as much strength as possible into my fist, pulled it back, and ran out from behind the tree as fast as I possibly can at the moment and...

"You Idiot!"

I punched Ace as hard as I possibly could.

* * *

A/N: Words are exactly from canon when Ace is recounting what happened at the pub.


	12. Chapter 11: The First Fight

A/N: I don't even know if I'm getting the correct essence down. Many got lost in the translation, because there weren't exact translations, and I'm running on like 2 hours of sleep.

* * *

Ace is strong. I know that.

Without the complete element of surprise, I would never have been able to land a hit in him.

But today, I got in a perfect shot.

"Wha-!?"

Wow, I actually knocked him back a bit, even if it wasn't that far.

My hard work is paying off!

"Hey! Why do you have such a proud 'I did it!" expression!"

Oh, he recovered quickly. My punch didn't seem to have affected him as much... I punched hard too. Need to work on that.

"Yuwan! Where the hell did _you _come from!?"

Oh, he's really distressed. I understand, it's probably because he didn't want me to see his moment of weakness.

But I don't care. I'm angry.

"Behind the tree. From the beginning."

"Huh!?"

"I'm the one that asked Jii-chan to talk to you after all."

Ace glared at Jii-chan with as much force as possible. It was enough that even Jii-chan looked a bit unnerved.

"Hey, Jii-chan. Thanks for helping, but I'm going to have a small 'chat' with Ace. We'll see you later, ok?"

I smiled as much as possible, grabbing my idiot older brother's arms, and waved at Jii-chan.

Oh, Ace. Why do you look a little pale?

I tugged on his arm, expecting at least a little resistance, but he came with me surprisingly easily.

* * *

"Ace"

I called his name, after we moved into the forest, just the two of us. Ace twitched in response.

"Wh- What?"

... Why are you so guarded?

"What was it you just said? Eh? "Was it good... that I was born...?"? What? What are you saying? Do you actually believe even a little that you shouldn't have been born? Are you serious? Are you an idiot? Why would that be the conclusion? You beat up all the people in the bar, yet you actually believe what comes out of their mouth? I mean, I guess it can't be helped. Only the person who it is directed to can understand that pain after all. I'm in no place to say anything. But you know what? I'm still angry. What you're saying is insulting to your Mom."

Ace still looked pale, but his expression changed into anger at my last sentence.

Ooh, he's mad.

"What are you trying to say! Calling me an idiot? You said that when you punched me too. And what the hell do you mean I'm insulting my Mom!?"

"Aren't you?"

"Shut up!"

Ace roughly grabbed my collar. My, my...

"I... I feel a great debt to her, but you...!"

A great debt, huh?

"What debt? Risking her life to give birth to you? For keeping you inside for twenty months? Yeah, that's amazing and all. I respect that too. But Ace, you believe, however small it is, that you shouldn't have been born? That's the same thing as telling your mom that she was foolish for dying, giving birth to such a worthless life!"

"I never said that!"

"Say it, don't say it, or even if you hadn't thought about it. That is _Exactly_ what you're saying."

Ace slammed me into a tree, still keeping a vice-like grip on my collar.

I felt the breath leave me... Yup, Ace is strong.

But this might be the first time Ace is hurting me without his usual restraint. It was such an easy tell of how angry he was.

"What! Would _you_ know!"

Ace... he looks like he is about to cry.

"You're different! _You're_ not the son of a devil! You wouldn't understand the pain of being rejected by the world just because I have _his_ blood in my veins!"

That's true. I don't have the blood of the Pirate King in my body. Mom was part of the legendary crew, but even she can't compare to the actual pirate king himself.

"Yeah, I don't know. No one has ever told me such things. But you might be wrong about some parts. _I_ don't know who my Dad is. It's definitely not Rodger, but that doesn't mean that he was a good person. who knows? I might also be a person who the world rejects. Mom _was_ a pirate after all."

Mom's diary didn't actually write about who Dad was wither. Hm? the mirror? I've never looked at another one of _those_ since my third birthday. It's scary! For many reasons! I don't know anything! Nothing about the suspicious settings!

...Yeah, I'm running from reality, but sue me. I'm a selfish person.

Actually, Luffy is coming soon. That might be a problem... But it'll be ok. It's Luffy we're talking about. I'll think of something.

... I'm getting off track.

The point being, I'm not in a position to lecture Ace. But also...

"What does 'the devil' even mean in the first place?"

It's been bugging me for a while now.

Isn't Dragon described in canon as the 'worst criminal in the world"? Wouldn't that include Rodger too?

"The world is bad because of Rodger? I mean it's true that the great pirate era began because of Rodger. But the choices that people made to become pirates, or marines; what made the world become what it is now is that individual's own choice. It doesn't matter what someone said, where they heard those words, or even what era they were born in. Pirates existed even before Rodger, albeit in small numbers. They all made their choice, and that's on them. Not everything is caused by Rodger."

An example would be Squard. His hate is not impossible to understand. It's not right that he reflects the sin of a father onto their child, but he at least has a decent reason to hate Rodger.

But... Rodger's treasure? What of it, no one was forced into becoming a pirate because of it. The people themselves chose to live this path.

And, I also have a different reason.

"Jii-chan, who was 'enemies' with Rodger said he couldn't hate Rodger in the end. That while the world hates him, the trust his nakama held for him was set to stone.

"My Mom was on Rodger's ship. It was in the diary that he was a good captain that cared about his crew. Mom was able to live her life because of Rodger. I'm not saying you should Accept Rodger. But what I know clearly is that without Rodger, Mom might have died. That would have meant that I would never have been born.

"I don't want to force my views onto you, Ace. But I at least, can't imagine Rodger being the devil the world paints him to be. To me, these two people hold more importance than something a complete stranger says."

The world hates Rodger, and pushes that onto Ace. That is a heavy burden to bear. So I don't intend to look down on Ace's views. There is no reason why he should accept such an unreasonable request.

"You get dragged into their views because you view him as the Pirate King. Try thinking of him as the person my Mom owes her life to, and in a sense, mine as well. Try thinking of him as the man your Mom loved."

It's easy to say, sure, but I know it's not something so easy to accept. I can imagine. But if so...

"If you still can't accept being his son, don't think about being Rodger's. You can't give birth to a child with only a father." ... you can't, right? It's [ONE PIECE], I don't know anymore. Anything is a possibility.

"You said yourself that you owe a great debt to your mom. Ace, you are the son of that strong, kind women. That's who's blood you have running through your veins. Isn't that something you can be proud of?"

"Mom... she died giving birth to me. If I wasn't there... she would still be alive today."

Is he still saying this? Seriously? You know, I can say the same thing.

"Then Ace, I want to ask you. Do you think I shouldn't have been born Was it good that _I_ was born?"

"Huh?"

Ace's eyes widened. But isn't this a valid argument?

"I'll help you remember if you're forgetting. _My_ Mom died giving birth to me too. I am not the son of the Pirate King, but with the point about being born in exchange for Mom's life, I'm the same as you... So, tell me, Ace. Do you think I shouldn't have been born?"

Ace didn't say anything, but he let go of my collar. I know this is a mean and underhanded argument. But it should have enough impact to carry the point across.

"Both of our moms chose our life over theirs. Isn't that because they loved us? Because they wanted us to live? Asking if you should have been born or not... Is their sacrifice really something so cheap? It's an insult to them to even hold such a thought. There is no life in this world that doesn't have someone who cares or cared about them. You already know the answer to that question you're asking... At least, that's what I think."

I've heard that the pain women feel upon giving birth is enough to shock adult males into death. A normal birth is compared to this, then Rouge must have known what she was going through with twenty months of pregnancy.

The same goes with Mom. According to the diary, Mom wasn't very healthy during her pregnancy. Many doctors suggested abortion. They told her that she should give up and try again when she is in better health.

But neither women gave up. That was because they felt that the lives of their sons were more important than their own. What else is there.

I am a guy, and I have no children. But I at least, can understand that.

"Ace, if you don't think I shouldn't have been born, then that goes the same to you. I am happy you are here. I am really thankful for that. Not just me. Sabo, Jii-chan, and Dadan... even if she doesn't really show that. And we will continue to be glad so long as you live. There will definitely be more people in your future who will care about you too."

Luffy is coming soon. He will meet the Whitebeards later on too.

It must be painful, and difficult now. He lives in fear of the possibility of the truth getting out. I understand that. The name of Rodger, of the Pirate King is a heavy one. I understand that, at least, through the six years that I've lived now. I know it's not something that can be dismissed so easily.

"Ace. Thank you for being born."

It was the truth, from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you for always being there for me.

Luffy will be here soon. Then, he would definitely share the same thoughts.

After all, Ace is truly a great older brother.


	13. Chapter 12: Meeting Luffy

The thing between Ace and I a couple days ago can be said the first ever real fight I had with him.

We've lived together for six years now, and while we had small argument, it never escalated into a full-blown fight.

So this situation is also a first... what to do?

"..."

"..."

Yeah, it's awkward to walk home through the mountain and not talk to each other!

I punched Ace and said some pretty horrible things to Ace back then.

So when I calmed down, I apologized to him. Ace forgave me, but... he's been kind of awkward ever since.

It's not like he hates me now. It's not that he's still angry either. He answers when I say something to him, and doesn't push me away if I am near him. Quite the opposite, actually. I tried to walk a little slower to give him space, but he waited for me until I caught up.

But he is slightly moody and talks a bit less. He's the same with Sabo, for some reason. I had thought it was only me, but he acted the same when he was alone with Sabo. The blond told me about a bit later, in confusion.

... I know that the reason is definitely me. I just can't understand how it came to this. I said a lot of things, but it's not like I have a lot of life experiences either...

Yeah, I give up!

Right before we got to Dadan's house, I returned the wild cow we hunted to its original size. I shrink it, because it's easy to carry this way. but I don't want others to know about my devil fruit, so I change it back before we get there.

Well, the person I really don't want to tell is Jii-chan. If he knew... that would be another story itself. I want it to be a secret at least until I go out to sea.

Anyway, Ace usually carries the wild cow, since its original size is too big for me. But today seemed to be a bit different.

"...why is it so noisy?"

Ace wondered out loud.

I can't believe I missed all the hints.

I am six now, meaning Ace is ten.

Today's hunt is a wild cow.

Dadan being loud.

I assume you already know.

He's finally here. The main protagonist・ Luffy...Umm, Ace? Why is your expression more on the evil side of the spectrum?

I could see from here the trade mark straw hat, and a very stretchy child being pulled along by Jii-chan. Ace is glaring sharply at the new person. ...Wow, he is _really _stretchy.

Yeah, I knew. But I had forgotten with the many years we've lived together that Ace is actually a _really_ guarded person. He only accepted me so quickly because I was a baby back then. You really don't have a reason to be guarded around an infant. On top of that, we had something in common, like a child of a pirate that was pushed onto the bandits by Jii-chan.

If I was brought just like Luffy, we wouldn't have become brothers like we are now. ...But I think it's going a bit too far, spitting on his face.

"Ugh, yuck! Spit!?"

Yeah, what a polite hello.

"Oh, Ace, Yuwan! There you are!"

... Jii-chan. I'm really envious of your ability not to read the mood.

How do you smile and laugh like that, when there is a glaring match going on!?

"Luffy, that's Ace, who is three years older than you, and Yuwan, who is one year younger. You'll be living together from now, play nice."

"It's decided already!?"

Dadan called out in shock. I moved over next to her, unwilling to be in the middle of the glaring match, and patted her leg.

"Give up, Dadan... We can't change anything once Jii-chan decides on something."

"Yuwan! What is with you anyway, looking as if you've seen the light of things!? Don't stare at me with pity!"

Well, I kind of do pity you.

"Dadan... just give up and accept the kid. Which is easier, to just accept, or be blackmailed into accepting? Your luck ran out when you started associating with Jii-chan."

He's probably going to say things like 'living the rest if your lives in prison', or something like that.

"Yuwan... what kind of person do you think Jii-chan is?"

Jii-chan asked with a strange expression.

Hmm... what's a good word?

I smiled the most innocent smile possible.

"A real 'Tensai'!"

Jii-chan smiled happily, as he registered Tensai as『天才』, a word for genius. I knew he would understand it this way. I really meant 『天災』 though, a natural disaster.

Actually, he may be some type of 『天才』. A genius at getting people involved in trouble.

Glancing at Dadan... I could see she understood the dual meaning behind the word. Most likely because she agrees with me.

* * *

I observed Luffy, who hadn't noticed since he was still trying to stare Ace down. Being studied like that is never a really good feeling, so now is a great chance to do so without being seen.

The first thing I noticed... was that Luffy was still a bit taller! Ahh, dang it. I thought one year wouldn't be much of a difference, but I'm still the smallest here.

But... he is also a little round. It looks like the body of a normal child who hasn't really trained their body yet. There wasn't much muscle on him, as expected of a normal village kid.

I might be stronger than Luffy at this point. ...Stronger than Luffy... I'm a bit happy and proud, even if it's against a seven-year-old.

Ace and Luffy's meeting was just like canon. Now... How to deal with this situation.

* * *

A/N: Yuwan said Tensai in hiragana, or using just the sound and not with the corresponding Kanji. The word has different meanings depending on the Kanji that's used.

『天才』 means genius, while 『天災』 means natural disaster.


	14. Chapter 13: Vigilance

The glaring match continued even after Jii-chan left. It only stopped when Ace moved to carry the meat inside.

Once Ace leaves, Luffy's attention would be drawn naturally to me. I get it. I understand... but why are you staring at me like that Luffy-kun?

"Na~, have we met before?"

...Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?

"Maybe. I was also born in Fusha."

It's easier for me to just say that.

To be honest, we _have_ met once. The day before I was given to Dadan. But Luffy was one years old, and I was about a couple of months. This can count as our first meeting.

What is this kid trying to say anyway?

Luffy was thinking deeply, tilting his head from side to side.

"Mmm~? No, that's not it. More recent...?"

Luffy doesn't seem to be completely sure either.

But that doesn't matter. Luffy... Dang it, Luffy...! The Luffy that never noticed Usopp=Sogeking... Why is his intuition so good with times like this!?

Not good, he might notice if he goes down this path! All of my three years of trying to ignore reality might come crashing down! I need to change the subject, quick!

"Hey, are you going to tell me your name? Jii-chan said it, but it's better to hear it from who the name belongs to."

It was a stretch, but Luffy nodded in agreement. Thank god he's such a simp- no, no, innocent child.

"I'm Luffy! I'm going to be Pirate King!"

Luffy puffed his chest out in pride.

He's been declaring that since this young age?

Huh... well, two can play that game.

"I'm Yuwan. I want to be a man to change history."

I tried declaring something big. It's not wrong, is it? I'm trying to change things like the summit war.

"Hey, wasn't your mouth stretching earlier?

I asked, even if I already knew. Leaving behind evidence that I collected data is just as important as not.

"Yeah! I'm a rubber human!"

Luffy proudly exclaimed, as he pulled both sides of his mouth as far apart as possible. ...Oh man, I really want to pull it.

"Hey, come in. Boss wants to talk to Luffy a bit."

Dogra came to get us, so we followed him in.

If he hadn't come, I might have lost my fight to curiosity, and pulled at Luffy's cheek, so I was kind of glad.

* * *

Ace's mistrust for others ran as deeply as the secret he carried. The greatest thing he fears is what would happen if his birth came out to light. I don't like it, but I can't do anything about it at this point in time.

Since the Dadan family knew because they lived together, then it's only a matter of time before Luffy finds out. Even I knew, and no one ever told me...well, without counting the fact that I knew from the beginning. But even without prior knowledge, I still would have figured it out, and Ace wasn't surprised that I knew. Luffy also knew in canon, though I can't remember how.

But Dadan doesn't want the Marines after them. They definitely didn't take care of us without thinking. If Luffy loses interest in Ace, then he may not even notice the situation.

Anyway, Ace was actually afraid. He was afraid that Luffy might go around telling people what he learned, or say something close to what those guys in the bar had said. That's why he won't let his guard down, and doesn't interact with him.

Well, it's not like I don't understand. honestly, during that conversation earlier, I too am feeling guarded around Luffy... Even if it's just me trying to run from reality. It's not as large of a thing as a secret.

Luffy, just like in canon, craved meat, and wanted to eat it. Dadan didn't let him have any though. Ace completely ignored him, and I pretended not to hear either. Sorry Luffy, I'm growing too. I don't want to share my meat.

Normally, Ace and I would take the meat back with us and eat there after making ourselves smaller. But with Luffy here, we can't seem to return to the room... That's probably why Ace, with his appetite, was in a bad mood.

Dadan was lecturing Luffy about chores and helping the bandits, but she wasn't being serious. Neither Ace nor I had ever participated in bandit work. They were more likely to kick us out, saying we're in the way than let us come along. She was trying to scare Luffy into going to Jii-chan, and somehow getting him to take the kid back.

It's such a sad thought process, but I could see where she was coming from. I felt pity for Dadan, ... but I also knew it was pointless.

"Ok."

Luffy nodded. He is too innocent for his own good... Even Dadan is crying.

"This is why I don't like Garp's grand kids. They're too tough!"

...Garp's grand kid's? ...Does that include me? I'm not that tough, am I? ...It's not really important anyway. I don't care too deeply...mm?

"..."

Hey, Ace? Why are you silently pulling my arm?

I could see that Ace had finished eating already. I'm almost done too... Ace nodded towards the door.

Oh, I see. We're going now? We did have a meeting planned with Sabo in the afternoon today... Just say it out loud Ace. No need to be so vigilant.

I decided to humor him though. He had enough on his plate as is.

"Ah, where are you guys going?"

Luffy called out to us...He looks a bit alarmed. Does he not want to be left alone with the bandits?

"To the meet-"

I tried to say to the meeting place, since he wouldn't know about the Gray Terminal, but Ace jerked my arm to stop me. He didn't want me to give out information, it seemed. *sigh*

"Heeeeeey, Wait~~!"

As expected, Luffy came running after us. Desperately. He's drenched in sweat. I remember the feeling on the first day to Gray Terminal. I could now keep up with Ace, and I was proud of how far I've gotten. Un, Good job, me.

Ace's frown, on the other hand, kept getting deeper and deeper. I could feel his displeasure increase with every step, and he still has a grip on my arm, so I can't move away...*sigh*.

I feel like I'm sighing a log today.

We could hear Luffy loudly talking about how he's not angry about the spit, and how they should be friends... what a pure child.

But this pureness seemed to have gotten on Ace's nerves.

Luffy has such a bad timing. Ace has a lot on his plate right now, what with the fight a few days ago, added with mistrust towards unknown person (=Luffy) and not being able to eat enough because of him. Ace's bad mood had peaked.

Ace suddenly kicked down a tree, then rolled it towards Luffy

Luffy's scream could be heard across the mountain... But I don't feel like helping. It's kind of fun, and I already know he'll survive. He's rubber! He was fine when he was squashed by Laboon, one or two trees are not going to hurt him.

I'm more impressed at Ace for doing this, even if he didn't know of Luffy's rubbery-ness. Was he actually trying to kill the kid? That's a scary thought.

Ace didn't even check what happened, and walked away. I saw a little bit. A child shaped flat rubber... it was a little funny, even if it isn't to the person having it done to them.

Ace wouldn't let me watch the rest though. He still kept his grip on my arm, and tugged ma along.

But not so long after that, we heard Luffy's voice from behind us... and Ace clicked his tongue.

"Chi... Let's go."

He started running before I even nodded. I didn't want to be dragged along, so I ran too. Recalling there being a bridge on this path, I remembered what happens next in canon.

...But I don't want to be too harsh.

Ace stopped once we crossed the bridge.

"Ace, you going to drop him off the bridge?"

I asked, but Ace didn't answer. I'm assuming that means yes.

"I think we might be going a bit too far, kicking him into the canyon."

I mean, if it was just the canyon, then it would have been fine... well, not really, but still.

"...You just watched the last time."

Ace mumbled out. I shrugged.

"Yeah, but he's rubber. He won't die just by being squished. Probably."

"Rubber?"

Ace finally turned towards me. He hadn't even made eye contact with me till now.

"Yeah. Rubber human. Probably one of the devil fruits... Just like me."

Ace's frown deepened.

"...When did you ask that?"

Wait, why did his mood get worse?

"When he introduced himself... Didn't you see him stretch when Jii-chan pulled him here?"

His mood kept plummeting... Why?

"Then it's fine if we drop him."

Why is he pouting?

Maa, like before, just dropping him into the canyon is ok. It might even be fun... Huh? I feel like I'm being a little cruel... Oh well, it's the truth. The problem though.

"You know there are wolves down there, right?"

Even if the fall won't hurt him, the claws and teeth would.

Ace clicked his tongue again... Oh, was he actually trying to kill him? Such inhumane act... But then what would that make me, enjoying the situation a little, a cruel person?

Poor innocent Luffy following two cruel people around.

"Just drop the bridge. Then he doesn't know another road run after us."

Actually, please agree. Luffy didn't come back for a week after Ace dropped him in canon. I would feel bad about doing that.

Ace grudgingly accepted, and cut down the bridge before Luffy came.

"Where's the bridge!?"

Oh, hey Luffy. Nice timing.

"There's wolves in the canyon, don't try to follow us! Go back to Dadan's place!"

I warned him. Otherwise, he might try to shoot himself across, or something. He's Luffy after all.

"I don't like bandits!"

On the other side, Luffy cried out, desperate to keep us here.

"There are different kinds of bandits. Good luck!"

There are different types of pirates too. I heard Luffy saying something else, but I didn't listen. I was getting worried about Ace's mood swings.

Sabo is waiting too, so we headed off to Gray Terminal without looking back.

* * *

A/N: Ace is inhuman. Yuwan is just being cruel.


	15. Chapter 14: The Plan

"Hey Yuwan... What's got Ace wound up like that?"

Sabo's concerns are warranted. Ace's mood didn't lighten up even after we got rid of Luffy. His mood was weird before, but now it's troublesome.

"Jii-chan came by today with his grandson."

It all boiled down to that one sentence.

"Grandson? Like you? He your brother?"

"No. I don't have siblings... maybe. I think he's my cousin. One year older."

Reading through the diary, Mom hasn't given birth to anyone other than me. I also know canon, and who Luffy's Dad is. He's not my sibling.

"ugh... Ace! Grow up!"

Yeah, you go Sabo!

"Shut up! I... I didn't get to eat as much as I wanted because of him!"

Eh, _that's_ what you're most concerned about? Sabo's sweat-dropping too.

Then, Ace looked away.

"Was he that bad? Or is it that he has loose lips?"

Sabo knew full well about Ace's weariness. That included his secret. Apparently, Ace told him himself.

I grimaced at him.

"He's not a bad person. He's... not loose lipped, per say... How to say it? He's an innocent kid, for good or bad."

Sabo nodded in understanding.

"I see. He's the type that can't lie."

Correct. Luffy isn't loose-lipped. He will keep a promise. But I am willing to bet on it, but he would never be able to dodge a leading question. He wouldn't even notice he gave everything away.

"Yeah, that's about right... But he seemed to have guts. If this continues, he might make it here someday."

He hates Bandits, meaning he will never want to be alone at Dadan's. He didn't follow today because we dropped the bridge, but now we will have to take different paths too. Luffy will end up following them that way. If it goes on like cannon...

"I think he'll be able to follow us here in three months."

I saw Ace make a sour face at my estimation.

"Come on Ace, don't make faces like that. Can't you do something about your mood? What's got you so irritated in the first place? ...If you're still angry about what I said a couple days ago, then I'll apologize. If you still can't forgive me, at least talk normally to Sabo."

See, that's the point. Now that Luffy has happened I need to solve this issue between us quickly. I need to at least be able to talk to Ace normally.

...Huh? Ace, why is your face so red?

"That's! You! ...Because... You said...!"

This redness... doesn't look like it's from anger... wait? Could this be...?

"Because you said... something like that...!"

Ace... were you embarrassed!?

What, did saying things like "I'm happy that you're here" and "I'm glad" and "Thanks for being born" really embarrass him? And the attitude towards Sabo is because I said Sabo most likely felt the same!?

What kind of a Tsundere is he!? He looked more upset than embarrassed.

So then...

All of the times I defended Luffy, and said that he introduced himself to me and he got mad... was it because he was jealous!? Jealousy!? What!?

"Hmmm~"

"Wh- What! Why are you smiling like that!"

"Nothing~"

Awww, Nii-chan, you're so cute when you pout.

"Hey Ace... What happened?"

"Shut Up!"

A red-faced Ace yelled at Sabo, but he seemed to have let everything out, so he will probably be ok.

So then the only problem left is with Luffy.

I actually don't want to spend three months like this. Being with a moody Ace is tiresome.

Personally, it's weird to see the two of them fight each other.

The problem is that Ace's weariness won't go away simply by me talking to him... I might just end up riling him up more.

In canon, Luffy didn't talk when he was tortured, and said the words Ace wanted at the right moment. That means, that if Luffy's sincerity wins against Ace's guards, they might have a change.

Once you know how to handle him, Luffy is a very innocent person, and Ace is a person that takes care of people well.

I don't want to see Luffy tortured, so maybe...If I played the cards right...

I came up with a plan that is kind of bad, and it hurts my heart to do this, but if it means that none of my family will get hurt... Then I think I will try.

Truly, I sometimes scare even myself.


	16. Chapter 15: Preparation

As I expected, after Ace let out his steam, he returned to normal... at least, in front of us.

His mood plummeted when Luffy welcomed us back on the way to Dadan's.

Ace completely ignored Luffy's existence. Completely. Me? I at least, said Tadaima.

* * *

If I am going to make my plan work, I need to prepare Luffy a bit. I can't do that with Ace near me. So I made a suggestion.

『I'll watch Luffy. Why don't you eat dinner in the back after I shrink you?"』

Ace, who had a lot of pent-up frustration from not being as close to full as he usually got, readily agreed.

Now, I'm in a room, completely alone with Luffy.

He kept asking questions, like where we were, and what we planned to do tomorrow. I continued the conversation by answering the bare minimum, and danced around the rest.

There is no question that Luffy wants to be friends with Ace and I. This is exactly why I am not letting him step over the line of 'room-mates'. Simply put, we're not close enough to be considered friends.

Luffy seemed vaguely to understand that he's not close enough, and he kept trying to talk to me. It's getting easier to see his desperation, as he started to run out of things to talk about, and kept circling back to previous topics. Oof, my heart hurts to do this to him...

I deflected another round of his questions and stood up. Luffy asked if I was going to the bathroom, but I danced around that question too, and didn't give him a straight answer.

If Luffy hated being alone, then he was sure to follow after me.

And I was correct. I watched as Luffy came looking for me after a little while. I left a small gap between the door to one of the many unused rooms.

... Alright. Time to start acting.

"One Fiftieth!"

I raised my voice slightly, making sure to be heard by Luffy. I shrunk an apple... apple... dammit such bad memories with this fruit... But that's not what I should be thinking about now.

I heard Luffy quickly walking towards the slightly open door, seemingly noticing my voice. It would be a problem if he didn't come. There was a reason I raised my voice.

I heard the small creak of the door being cracked open, and used my abilities again.

"Release!"

The apple that was shrunk to 1/50 of its size returned to its original form immediately after my release.

"An apple appeared!"

He most likely didn't see the apple, with how small it was. To Luffy, it would have looked like an apple appeared out of nowhere.

"You saw!?"

I pretended to jerk in surprise, as if I had just noticed Luffy there. Looking at him, I could now see his shining eyes.

"That's soooo coooool! What was that? Did you do that?"

Yup, such a curious child.

The plan was going accordingly.

"...The mini- mini fruit."

I answered, trying to sound curt, with a sour expression. But Luffy seemed to be more interested in my answer.

"You ate a devil fruit too!?"

"Yeah, well..."

I answered inarticulately.

"I can reduce the size of different objects."

"Reduce?"

"I can make things smaller...Half"

The apple shrank immediately... now, I am able to minimize objects up to half of their size with almost no time lug.

"I practice sometimes so I can control it properly. Release."

The apple returned to its original size again, and Luffy's excitement rose.

"...Luffy."

"? What is it?"

Luffy looked away from the apple, hearing my serious voice.

"I don't want you to tell anyone about this."

I tried my best pleading impression, making an expression that looks like I'm about to cry.

"Why?"

Luffy tilted his head in confusion. It's expected. Luffy, who easily told me what his abilities were, doesn't think a devil fruit power is something to hide.

"If Jii-chan finds out, things would get complicated."

"Ah! When I told Jii-chan, he brought me here!"

I would imagine. Jii-chan didn't approve of Luffy's new powers in canon, either. I'm hiding my abilities _because_ I know this.

Well, he was probably brought here because he said he wanted to be a pirate...Jii-chan... do you _really_ want to make Luffy into a marine? I mean, Ace and I are here to hide us from the world, it why did he bring Luffy here? Is it because Dragon started to gain influence? But why did he think that Luffy will want to be a marine by being with mountain bandits?

...Yeah, this is something to ask later... even if it feels like the conversation would end with 'because he's my grandson.' But right now, what's important is Luffy.

"Right. That's why I haven't even told Dadan and then yet. The only ones who know are Ace and another friend. Luffy, please don't say anything about my abilities to anyone. Please!"

I asked, as if in desperation. ...I feel like I could be a professional actor, with what I'm doing now.

"Ok, I won't tell anyone!"

Luffy promised immediately.

I felt my heart hurt at his pureness again...but I've gotten this far. I'm not stopping now. I asked again.

"Really? You won't tell anyone? Ever?"

"Never!"

Absolutely no hesitation. He's even pouting now, asking why I can't believe him.

...I'll just give one last push.

"I, I'm going to trust you, ok? If you tell anyone... I'll never forgive you!"

'Never forgive' is probably what Luffy doesn't want the most at this point. Luffy doesn't want to be alone. He understands that Ace still doesn't trust him, and that I'm only giving him the minimal amount of attention as possible. Me 'never forgiving him'... Luffy losing the however small amount of trust I've shown him; he will lose all chances on becoming friends.

"Of course! I promise! I won't tell anyone!"

Luffy replied quickly. Now that I've gotten the magic words, Luffy won't tell unless in a dire circumstance. What I wanted from him was a promise that 'he will never tell anyone about my abilities'. Now, my preparation is complete.

Luffy looked at me with a such a straightforward look, that it hurt any and all humanity left in my heart.


	17. Chapter 16: To instigate

The next day.

We got to Gray Terminal after losing Luffy like always.

I told the older two what happened yesterday. Of course, I never told what I felt on the inside, but I talked about the conversation and promise he made with me.

"What...!"

Ace froze with his mouth open. Next to him, Sabo's eyes widened in surprise.

"I can't believe Yuwan would make such a mistake..."

Yeah, that's because it was on purpose.

"It's fine, he promised he won't tell anyone."

As I replied, Ace revived from his statue like pose.

"We can't trust that! He'll tell sooner or later!"

"I don't think he would..."

To be honest, this is an argument that will get us nowhere. I know from canon that Luffy would never break his promise. But I can't say this, so from an outside perspective, it just looks like a theory supported by no evidence. Ace's argument that Luffy will tell is also an argument driven by emotion, his wariness and paranoia. Because neither of us will let it go, it's an endless argument.

Honestly, the more I speak in favor of Luffy, the more Ace will stick to his theory. The way he acted yesterday... such a tsundere...*snicker*

But that was what I was aiming for. Ace's type usually don't think when they're angry. If they decide on one thing, they will hyper focus on that one thing.

I wonder if I can do anything about that? I can't say anything now, but if that changes, he wouldn't have gone after that cherry pie bastard... sorry Teach... or go back to fight Akainu because of his taunts. Then I can stop his death... But that would be changing Ace's character. That is what makes Ace Ace, and I wouldn't change that.

Well, I'm using it to my advantage now, so I can't say anything.

"In a dire situation, he would definitely talk!"

See what I mean? Maybe I should copy his reaction.

"What do you mean, a dire situation!? Is he going to be tortured by pirates or mountain bandits!? Is he going to be threatened!? Things like that!?"

I mean, I don't think the Dadan family won't do anything to Luffy. If they did, a hurricane named Jii-chan would blow through afterwards.

"There aren't situations like that just lying about there! There is no reason for him to tell on his own! If someone tries to pull the information out, that may be different, but there's no one like that around here! It's fine!"

See, Luffy can't lie to save his life. If someone tried to find out through back-handed means, then he might unwittingly spill. But if someone was going to ask, they would need at least some bit of information first. The only people who know about my abilities are Ace and Sabo, and no one else. So there is absolutely no reason someone would even think about asking him.

If nothing happens, Luffy won't go out and tell someone's secret. Ace knows that. 『If nothing happens』 ...

In front of me now is an angry Ace.

"If he talks, what are you going to do!?"

"If that happens..."

Ace saying things like this... It means he is going to move like I had thought he would.

I glared at Ace, expression changing into one that was between pouting and sulking.

"If that happens, then I will help losing Luffy on the way here to the best of my abilities. I don't want to be near someone I can't trust. …I won't complain if you drop him into the canyon with the wolves. Do as you want. Actually, if you want, I'll do it."

"Don't forget those words!"

I could tell that Ace got determined. But I think Luffy will keep my secret.

In Canon, he didn't spill where the treasure was, even when he was tortured by pirates. Nothing worse than that would happen so easily.

If he were to spill… Then it's 'Shouganai'. Can't help it. If he can't lie due to his personality, then it can't be helped, but we cannot tell Ace's secret to someone who will spill the beans so readily. I won't let him die, but we will be more distant.

"Hey Yuwan….. Ace looks like he's planning something…"

Sabo, who had been watching our exchange silently, looked worried now that Ace seemed to have been fired up.

"If we leave him to it, he might actually go after Luffy to prove he's right. You okay with that?"

…Yeah, that would most likely happen. I'm counting on it.

* * *

I had told Luffy that Ace and one other person knew my secret. Even if he promised not to tell anyone, there is a higher chance he will spill to someone who already knows the secret if they ask about it. Normally. At least, Ace probably thinks that way.

But Luffy is a straightforward person. This means, that he is not adaptable. So he takes things quite literally. If he promised that he won't tell 'anyone', he means literally 'anyone'.

Ace will definitely go and try to get information out of Luffy about my abilities. But Luffy will most definitely not talk.

Even if Luffy doesn't spill, Ace wouldn't believe him initially. If he gets annoyed enough, there is a possibility he may go out and use force.

But if he still doesn't talk…Ace would have to believe him.

My plans are so unpleasant….

A self-degrading chuckle escaped my mouth before I could stop it. Sabo saw it, and seemed to hold his own suspicions, but I managed to divert him.

I would never be able to tell him.

That I manipulated Ace so that he would attack Luffy…

I tried to convince myself. Even if Ace was a little extreme, it would be much better than what the pirates would do in their torture.

….Maybe I should keep an eye on them in case something happens….

In my brain, the words 'Drowning in a plan' ran past.


	18. Chapter 17: The hole in the plan

Ace made his move the next day. As expected of our Ace. He was quick.

On the way to Gray Terminal, Luffy followed us like usual. After losing him once, Ace waited for him alone. …Yeah, he's so ready to attack.

Me? He told me to go ahead, but I got a little worried, so I'm watching them from on top of a tree. Just in case, I have a weapon with me. Small rocks that have been reduced to about 1/50 of their sizes. Their original height would be about 1 meter. I prepared those when Ace was planning his move yesterday night.

Right now, they're about 2cm each, so it's easy to aim and throw. But what would happen if I change it back into their normal size?

Think about it. Rocks about 1m each coming raining down from above, aimed exactly at one target…..That would be scary! Even if it won't work on rubber humans!

If something were to happen…. Like if Ace went further than was warranted, I am going to throw this near them to stop them. Even Ace would have to pause in surprise.

Also, I wasn't the only one intent on watching them.

"Just as I thought. Looks like Ace is going to do it."

Un, why are you here Sabo?

Sabo, who usually waits near the trash mountains was waiting for us today. The reason?... To watch the show.

His thoughts were easy to understand. "Because it looked like fun"….*sigh*.

I mean, if this situation was something that happened on its own, I would have been having fun watching them too. But this is something I planned…

Showing Luffy my abilities, as if it were an accident, extracting the promise, and making sure Ace would ask Luffy about it…. I did all of that, and….Ugh, my heart hurts….

I'm sorry Luffy, for making Ace attack you. I'm sorry Ace, for manipulating you.

* * *

"Ace, what's up?"

Luffy looks _very_ happy….. Yeah, it's the first time Ace instigated some kind of action or show of interest towards Luffy.

"You. What did you hear from Yuwan?"

Ace, so straightforward!

I knew Ace would ask directly.

To Luffy, leading questions would work the best. But Ace is angry enough so that he won't think it through. But if you ask Luffy that way….

"I… I don't know! He didn't tell me anything!"

His eyes were swimming, and his mouth was pulled into a little duck-like expression. Yeah.

"Such a bad liar!"

Sabo and I whispered out at the same time, as we made eye-contact.

Luffy, why are you so bad at lying? I would like to meet anyone who believes Luffy's lies. That was how bad he was, and it seemed like Ace hadn't expected it either. He had a weird expression on his face.

"….Stop lying!"

"It's not a lie!"

No, it's definitely a lie. It's written all over his face.

The same conversation about don't lie, it's not a lie continued for about 10 minutes… Why are they both so stubborn!?

Sabo and I were playing rock paper scissors at this point with how board we were. New developments only happened after I won three and lost two rounds.

"Admit it already!"

Ace was breathing deeply. It seems like his temper was still rising.

"I didn't hear anything!"

Luffy was also heaving breaths. But he still wouldn't say anything, and Ace seemed to lose his patience.

"….I see."

Luffy looked relieved at Ace's words. He seemed to have assumed that Ace let it go…. But Luffy, pay attention to Ace's deminer a bit.

Sabo and I played closer attention, as the situation was starting to get heated up.

"Then I'll make you talk!"

Ace jumped onto Luffy, slamming him to the ground, and held him down. Ah, it looks like he hit his head.

"Spill, or I'll kill you!"

Hey hey, what are you saying?

…Now that I think about it, didn't he say the same thing in canon when he found the pirate fund? It's fine, I guess. I mean, it's probably a bluff.

"That hurt…. No it didn't! Because I'm rubber!"

Oh, he _did_ hit his head after-all.

Any impact-based attacks won't work on Luffy. Even if he can't control his powers well, that doesn't change. Ace doesn't have sharp objects, as far as I know. There shouldn't be anything worrying… but then why do I feel like something bad is going to happen?

….It's most likely because my plan is going too smoothly. That's why I'm getting anxious. In this world especially, there shouldn't be any perfectly executed plans.

But it's a good thing that everything is going this way. I don't have to think about anything else.

I shook my head, and focused on what was playing out in front of me.

"I! Really don't know anything!"

Luffy's eyes are full of tears.

It's to be expected, Luffy doesn't know Ace is bluffing. Counting my age in the last life, I started this life with 15 years under my belt, so Ace's glares are cute. But Luffy is 7, so a 10-year-old Ace must look very intimidating. The three years of difference that doesn't seem like much to an adult is huge to a child.

But he still won't say anything. Because he made a 『promise』.

"You….!"

Ace stopped midsentence, catching our attention. I followed his gaze…. And I found out why I was so worried. What I was missing.

I forgot the fact that we are in the mountain.

Ace wouldn't confront Luffy in the open because of the nature of the secret he was trying to extract. Definitely not near Dadan's place. But he will never take Luffy to the Gray Terminal, so long as he doesn't trust him. That would mean that the talk would happen in Mt. Colubo.

I could predict that, and that is what happened. But I failed to notice the possibility of situations like these.

Being inside of a mountain means that there was always a possibility of encountering some kind of wild animal.

And Ace and Luffy currently don't have the strength to beat them. It's obvious, Luffy is weaker than me right now.

"Dammit, why now…."

I clicked my tongue, but weather that was for the situation, or for myself at not being able to predict this, I don't know.

Infront of Ace's line of sight was a wolf…. The one that usually stays in the bottom of the canyon, staring at the two children with the eyes of a predator.


	19. Chapter 18: The Wolf

The wolf usually stays in the canyon. Why is it here now, of all the times?

I knew in my head. It's not strange for a wild beast of the mountain to be in the mountain. But still, I can't believe it chose to come now.

Wolves usually travel in packs. They are also very territorial. This one probably came up here by accident. Its eyes are blown wide with dilated pupils, most likely because it was hungry.

But it's still alone. It's not that big anyway, it will be fine….If Ace was alone. It probably would have been fine even if I was there. At least I wouldn't be in the way.

But Luffy is different. He was a normal village child until a few days ago. He came back after a week in canon, but…. Honestly, that seems more like a miracle.

Even if he is a devil fruit user, it won't mean anything if he can't control it. I mean, if he was Logia, it may have been fine…. But a rubber human….

The wolf attacked, as expected.

"Tch!"

"Wah!?"

Ace jumped back gracefully, while Luffy rolled out of the way. Ace stood up on the ready, holding his pipe out defensively…. Right, he brought it with him. He probably didn't use it until now, because he knew it won't work on Luffy.

Luffy, on the other hand, was trying to crawl away. He most likely lost strength in his legs. I don't think it's pitiful. Not at all.

Ace and I can think that wolf won't mean much because it's small because we've lived in this mountain for our whole lives. Normally, even an adult man would be killed. But Ace(and Sabo and I) who will try to fight it without considering the possibility of running is the one that is not normal.

The wolf focused initially onto Ace, who made a larger move. But with the option of two prey, one of them ready to fight(and is strong), and the other who is trying to get away, but failing at it…It's easy to guess who the wolf will go after in the end. It doesn't want to fight. It just wants to eat.

Luffy must have understood the wolf's intentions, and he froze on the spot, and started shaking.

The wolf jumped again, and Luffy was able to dodge the teeth and claws, but ended in a position where he was being crushed under the animal's weight.

"H-Help!"

He was trying not to get bit by holding the wolf's face back with his arms, but Luffy lacks stamina. It's only a matter of time before he gets eaten. It's reasonable to ask for help.

"…Tell me!"

As I moved in a position to intervene, I froze at Ace's words.

"Tell me what you heard! Then I'll help you!"

Ace, you're still saying things like that!? In this situation!? Dammit, did I goad him on too much yesterday?

I felt like holding my head and just giving up on the situation. Because…..

"I-I don't know! I didn't hear anything!"

See, that would be his answer. He's Luffy, after all! I knew he would say that. He kept the secret even when he was being tortured.

Look at him! He's full out crying now!

"Oi Yuwan, whatever you're going to do, do it now!"

Sabo's voice shook me back to reality from the position I was in, with an arm pulled back and ready to throw.

Right, now is not the time.

I threw the rock, and returned it to its normal size.

"Release!"

The rock turned back into a boulder, and flew straight at the wolf….and Luffy, who was under it. The boulder increased its speed as gravity pulled it down. With the sudden movement, both the wolf and the human underneath it were unable to move, and both were crushed.

…If Luffy was not made of rubber, I wouldn't have been able to do such a feat.

"Yuwan!? And Sabo!? Wh- What the hell are you doing here!?"

Ace, who was in a position that indicated he was about to move, looked up from his weird position.

"….Observing?"

"Huh!?"

I mean, what else would we be doing here?

"Sorry I stole your moment."

Ace's face turned a bit red at my apology…..he's embarrassed… so cute….

As Luffy was in actual danger, I saw Ace starting to lunge forward to help. He stopped, though, after hearing my voice. Yeah, I was slightly faster.

He must already know at this point, that we've been watching since the very beginning. Of course, if that was the case, it's clear that we saw Ace threatening Luffy, and saying he will help if Luffy spills the secret. But as I just pointed out, he still moved to help Luffy. That must be what he was so embarrassed about. ….I think it was a good thing. I would question the humanity of the person who didn't move to help.

"Alright. Let's go help Luffy."

I jumped off of the tree branch, and landed perfectly. It's good to be able to measure physical improvement.

"What do you mean, help? The wolf is already crushed."

Ace looked away, pouting a bit. I smiled a bit.

"The wolf is dead. But Luffy's still under there. He probably didn't get hurt by the impact, but he might suffocate if we leave him there."

He's perfectly wedged under. We can only see his hands and feet. He might not be able to breath like that.

"One Fourth!"

I don't need to shrink it down to 1/50 just to move it. 1/4 or about 25cm is enough.

"Ugh…"

What we found under the boulder was not pretty…..like a splatter? Ground wolf?

Luffy looks fine. He's unconscious, but he doesn't look like he has any outer injuries. I mean, he's mushed into the ground, but nothing else. The wolf, on the other hand…. Yeah... Mince? I don't know how else to describe it. It doesn't really have its original form…. I'm going to stop visualizing. There may be people eating.

"Oh man. That's gross…"

Sabo's brows were furrowed, as he observed from over my shoulder.

"…..Let's go to the river."

I moved the shrunken rock off of Luffy, and pulled him up. Ace, who was watching from a little distance, also furrowed his brows.

"Why the river?"

I mean…It's kind of obvious…

"Luffy is dirty."

See, the wolf was on top of Luffy. So the wolf became minced while it was on top of Luffy. Right now, his face, body, and cloths are all covered in wolf blood and meat…. It may have been a good thing that he lost consciousness.

"Lucky for us, it's not that far. It would be easy to carry him if I make him smaller too. One tenth!"

I shrunk Luffy, and headed towards the river. Sabo followed quickly, and Ace followed a little later.


	20. Chapter 19: My Mistake

"Gyaaaaaa!"

Luffy woke up with a scream, just as I finished washing off the majority of the blood and meat.

"B- boulder!? A boulder came raining…..!"

Eh, that's what you're more worried about? Not the wolf? Am I the one that scarred Luffy's heart?

"Ah, well….. calm down, Luffy."

I couldn't figure out what to say, so I tried calming him down.

"Huh? Oh, Yuwan! …Where are we?"

Luffy looked around with a curious expression.

"We're at a river. I washed you, because of how messy you were. The wolf is dead."

"Wolf…."

Luffy looked like he still had no idea what I was talking about, but his memories seemed to gradually return. His face began to scrunch up. The fear of the wolf that had been blown away by the raining boulders seemed to return.

"Yu, Yuwan~~"

It seemed it was so terrifying remembering the experience. He clung to me, and started crying his eyes out.

Oh, and I returned him to his original size once we got the river.

"I, I was scared! I was going to die…. I was going to be eaten again…..!"

I remembered what happened in canon when he said again. Thinking back to it, Luffy was almost ate by the giant crocodile thing recently. He was also witnessed Higuma the mountain bandit being eaten by it.

That alone would have been enough trauma, but he got close to being eaten by a wolf this time…. That must have been terrifying.

"…..Shut up!"

Ace, who had been watching our exchange silently, yelled out.

"If you were that scared, you should have told me! I said I would help you if you spilled!? I could have gotten rid of a wolf like that easily!"

….That's true. Ace is right in a sense. He is strong enough, and if you make living your priority, that is what Luffy should have done. But…

"*sniff*…I.. I didn't hear anything!"

Luffy said clearly, still crying large droplets of tears. I actually looked to the heavens in exasperation. I could see Sabo doing the same from the corner of my eye.

"You! You're still saying that!?"

Ace glared at him once again.

I can't deny it any more…. I did too much. And… I was too optimistic.

"Luffy, it's okay. You can tell Ace and Sabo… the one over there."

Hearing my voice, Luffy processed the sentence for a bit, then started crying harder. Everything he was carrying probably lightened.

In canon, Luffy would have cried out loud, but the Luffy in front of me was trying to keep his sobs as quiet as possible. Most likely, it was because I was here. He didn't want to openly sob in front of someone younger than himself.

But it seemed that it was enough for Ace, who's nerves were frayed to the limit.

"You're so annoying! I hate weaklings and crybabies!"

Luffy suppressed his cries even more.

"You heard from him too, didn't you? That I also know Yuwan's secret!? Why wouldn't you say anything!?"

"B-because… I promised! I wouldn't tell 'anyone'… If I tell, Yuwan won't forgive me… Ace won't trust someone who can't keep a promise either….! I won't be able to be friends anymore!"

As expected of Luffy. He had known, even if it was from just instinct.

"It's better than dying! Why do you want to be friends so badly!?"

Oh? This looks like the lines are getting similar to canon…then that means…

"I have no one else!"

Can't return to the village, hates mountain bandits…. This is Luffy's true feelings.

"If I don't run after you, I'll be all alone…!"

Luffy looked down and continued.

"Being alone hurts worse than pain."

…True. If I didn't have Ace with me, I definitely would have become a very twisted person…. I mean, I'm still kind of immoral, but whatever.

"So you… You won't be sad if you're with us? Would it trouble you if we weren't there?...Do you…want me to live?"

"Of course…!"

Luffy answered Ace's question without hesitation… Yep, just like canon.

Ace seemed to think for a moment. The words came from Luffy, who he had only met a few days ago. Not from me, who he grew up with, or Sabo, who he has known for years. That he was wanted, and needed. To be blunt, we are too close to Ace. It's become normal for us to rely on and want Ace to live.

Ace most likely is starting to accept Luffy already. At least, his guards must have dropped at least a bit since he didn't spill the secret in such a dire situation.

But I….

* * *

I am wondering.

What I did today. Was it even an action that needed to be taken?

It's true that Ace and Luffy had gotten close three months earlier. But we can also say that it was only three months.

I knew that what Ace did must have been better than what pirates would have done. But the wolf made Luffy fear for his life. In that aspect, what I did was not even so different.

That conversation between the two wasn't that different from canon either.

The end was the same, the damage was the same… then did my actions hold any meaning?

It's okay if this was just a coincidence. But what if…. What if the world was trying to continue along its original path?

I may be reading too much into this. But this is different from the Summit War, that involved the world. It was only the meeting between a few children in the far corner of the world. But… It felt like I was being shown how difficult it was to change the intended course of the world.

If I say this another way….. If I can't change such a small thing, how do I even begin to imagine changing the course of the huge war.

And my plan… It was annoying how it was going perfectly for a while.

A plan that succeeded only to the middle was the same as a plan that had failed since the beginning. If it's a mistake that I could have prevented, then it's even worse.

The reason why I had that rock in the first place was so that I could distract Ace.

While it worked out in the end, that's not what was important. Saying Ace would have saved him is just irresponsible.

My plan was that unfair to begin with. Then I at least should have made sure such a mistake wouldn't have happened.

But I hadn't thought about it.

…I should have thought and thought, and made sure to think through every possibility, and _then_ put the plan into motion.

The wild beasts of Mt. Colubo were one of the first things that I should have thought about. I should have made a plan for situations like this.

But I was distracted by Ace and Luffy's relationship, that I failed to see it.

I …I was too optimistic… I was over confident… I was too nice to myself.

'Drowning in my plan'…The words I remembered back then were so true.


	21. Chapter 20: Facing Reality

Chapter 20: Facing Reality

While I was wallowing in my mistakes, Luffy had stopped crying.

That's good. It's good, but Luffy-Kun…. Why are you looking at me like that?

"Oh… I remember!"

Eh, what did you remember? Why are you looking at me with such sparkling eyes?

"Getting almost eaten! And being in water! I remember!"

Luffy is getting excited, for some reason.

…..being in the water… does he mean right now?

I'm still holding Luffy up, while his lower body is in the water. It was easier to wash him this way. In reality, I wanted to be in the shallower part of the water, but both of us are anchors. I'm not doing such a scary thing.

Because of this position, Luffy, who is a little bit taller in reality, is looking up at me. …Yeah, um, why are you holding my face with both of your hands?

….. Wait, hold on!

Almost being eaten + In the water + Really close distance! I know a situation like this before….. Shit!

"Lu-Luffy? Aren't you tired? Let's go home-"

I tried to change the subject. But.

"I thought I've seen you before somewhere Yuwan! But I was wrong!"

Luffy isn't listening to me! What is it with this kid!?

No, I knew! I knew Luffy doesn't listen to what others are saying in most cases! But still!

Aah, why are you looking so happy….. Stop!

"Yuwan you!"

I felt cold sweat going down my back as I could guess his next words…

"You look like Shanks! Your hair is red too! A Chibi-Shanks!"

He… He said it.

The three years that I've been trying to deny reality… He wasted it….

"…"

I stepped away from Luffy without a word.

"Yuwan? What's wrong?"

Luffy had a curious look on his face. Ace and Sabo seemed bewildered, at how depressed I looked.

Fine! I'll admit it! My hair _is_ red. I noticed that even before I looked into the mirror. I was a little happy, because it was a plain black in my last life. I thought it was cool too!

I look young, I don't' have scars or a beard, but yes, my face looked exactly like Shanks. I just have Mom's green eyes.

According to the diary, Mom's pirate adventures were on two ships. The Rodger pirates, then the Red Hair pirates.

Names like Ben・Beckman and Yasopp and Lucky ・Roo made frequent appearances!

I mean, they say there are at least three people who look just like you in the world! The diary didn't specify either!

Yes, I'm denying reality. What of it!?

….Hey!

"Stop trying to put that straw-hat on my head!"

Luffy, who had appeared next to me without my notice, was trying to put it on my head. He froze when I yelled at him, but he still tried to talk me into it.

"B-But! I think it would look good!?"

"Don't think!"

Stop. Please.

"Why are trying so hard to stop me!? It's my treasure!"

It seemed to have annoyed Luffy that I kept denying his treasure.

"If it's so precious, keep it safe! Don't try to give it to people!"

You were angry at anyone other than your nakama who touched it!

Ugh, I think I might cry. Why must he force me to see reality? I don't need all of these extra settings added on to my character!

"…I've never seen Yuwan so reluctant to accept something before."

"Me too."

Ace and Sabo were surprised to see my reaction. I mean I understand; I have never acted like this before.

…You know what? I'm going to give up. I'm tired. I'm accepting it. It's fine.

Judging by Mom's diary and my looks. My Dad is most likely the famous Red-Haired Shanks.

Mom… couldn't you have said something in your diary? I mean, the signs were there, but she never explicitly stated it…. I took advantage of it, and tried not to think about it.

* * *

Dammit, that Old geezer Kami making things more complicated.

He's an Emperor!? I don't know if that's what he is at this point in time. But what is this? I _have_ to become even stronger if I have any hope to survive.

Ugh, fine. Let's think about this another way.

It's better than that Red-nose!

I wouldn't be able to handle that nose.

Yep, that sounds good. If it's going to be the same red, I would rather have red hair than a red nose.

….The scary thing is, that always could have been a possibility.

It was in the diary.

(During Rodger-pirate era)

『Today, red-nose gave me a jewel that he found on an enemy ship. It was such a rare thing. He never gives anyone his treasure. 』

Or

(The same place)

『I gave red-nose one of the books I didn't need anymore. But why was he smiling like that? Everything other than the nose was red too. 』

Or other things like that.

Eh? She called him red-nose on a daily basis? That's not important. ….Mom, I think you were red nose's love interest.

It doesn't seem like she noticed anything though. Mom, you were so clueless!

Looking at the date with Rodger's execution, Red-nose even asked her to be a pirate with him.

She declined, though. Good job Mom!

I'm so relieved she didn't become so friendly with the group of weirdo-s in Red-nose's crew.

…But apparently, 『Red-Hair』 asked her to be his nakama on the same day, and she accepted. Eh? I had thought. What does that mean?

Anyway, it's so good that that was not the case. Red hair is better than a red nose.

I mean, it's not that I dislike Buggy. He is a character with a certain taste. But if I was to become a red-nosed pirate… No thanks!

Yes, this is how I should think about it!

I pulled myself together.

"Okay, I'm good now!"

"Shishishi, You're so funny Yuwan!"

Apparently, Luffy and Sabo were introduced while I was accepting my fate. They were friendly from the beginning, unlike canon….. Well, it kind of made sense. Luffy _had_ proven himself, and Sabo was far less guarded than Ace was.

I pretended not to notice that Luffy succeeded in placing the hat on my head. Think of it as a form of apology for putting him in such a dangerous situation.


	22. Chapter 21: 『 Healer Princess』

It has been three months after the whole 『A wolf appeared when Ace attacked Luffy incident. 』

Eh? The pace is too fast? Don't worry about it, it was a fairly uneventful three months.

Just as I thought, the relationship between Ace and Luffy improved very quickly. I mean, the both of them are so alike. Once there were no trust issues holding them back, the rest was history.

Luffy easily forgave Ace when he apologized about attacking him.

In truth, I should be apologizing too, but I didn't. Don't want to make things more complicated.

Luffy lacked the physical strength to make it to Gray Terminal. So he's been doing physical training with me every day. Running, pushups, and what not.

He's trying very hard. It apparently hit him hard when he couldn't beat even me in a fight.

…But just because I'm a year younger…. I've been training two more years than him… If I lost against Luffy now, I don't think I'll be able to recover from it.

My relationship with Luffy…. He's fond of me? I mean, he's gotten really friendly.

I guess he feels a sort of familiarity because I look like his inspiration. But when he asked why I look alike, I told him that 『it's your imagination』. Luffy went along with it, and said 『I see, just my imagination』….. What a pure child!

I see no reason to tell people about who my dad is, just because I have accepted reality.

It was a fun three months.

Right now, Sabo is at us in our house. Actually, It's Dadan's house, but you know what I mean. The reason was simple, really. The events of canon happened exactly.

Ace stole from Bluejam.

The difference was that Luffy did not get captured. He hid in the bushes with us. Yeah… If he gets nearly eaten by a wolf and now gets tortured by pirates, I would take him to a priest.

Anyway….We're a little famous around here. Ace, Sabo, and Yuwan…The demon brat trio. Luffy is not part of this yet. He hasn't been acknowledged by the public yet…. He'll probably make it in soon.

What I'm trying to get at, is that Sabo can't stay at Gray Terminal anymore.

Dadan's house is starting to look more like a daycare nowadays.

The conversation between Sabo and Dadan didn't change either.

* * *

Why I'm telling you about this now is because of what happened one of those days.

While Ace and Luffy were fighting over a piece of meat, Sabo and I were reading the newspaper Dadan gave us. This is a sight that can be seen every morning now. Information is power they say!

"…..What's this?"

What I'm holding now it a piece of paper that fell out of the newspaper.

"What do you mean? It's a wanted poster. Of your Mom."

Yes, I can tell, Dadan. But….

"But Mom already died…. 6 years ago. Why are they still making posters?"

Why would they keep posting about a dead person, who can't do anything 'evil' anymore? There is no reason to be wanted, or have the posters updated. Posters are only updated if their price goes up…. But how would that be possible?

Looking at the poster again, there was another weird thing.

Mom in the picture looked younger than what I remember. …really young. About 12 or 13 years old. Probably from when she was on Rodger's ship.

And the price…

『治癒姫』(Healer Princess) Lumina: 680 million Berry.

Why is it so high!?

Ace in canon is 550 million, and Luffy is 400 million(at least to Gyojin island arc). Her price is higher than that…

And her name is just Lumina. Why did they leave out 『Monkey・D』? Is it to protect Jii-chan, who is the 'Hero' of the marines? ….But the why would Luffy be wanted with his full name if that was the case?

Leaving aside the problem with the picture and the name…The weirdest thing….

"Why is she wanted 『ALIVE』?"

What's usually written on the posters are the words 『DEAD OR ALIVE』. But Mom is wanted 『ALIVE』. Why?

"You surprised?"

Dadan asked with a sigh, and I nodded for an answer.

"You weren't the only one. The first time this poster came out, the whole world was surprised. This was the first poster that said 『ALIVE』ever in history."

That's what I thought. I'm not surprised. I've never seen such a poster before either.

"No one knows why, but the marines want her alive no matter what. Even after she disappeared 6 years ago, they still update the poster like this, but with more reward than before."

6 years…. That's when I was born. But that means….

"Jii-chan knows Mom died. Why didn't he report it?"

Dadan shrugged.

"How should I know what Garp is thinking?"

True.

But why would they want her alive so desperately?

I then remembered a line that the old geezer kami had said after I ate the devil fruit.

『Your mom had a bounty as a regular pirate, and it was increased by her being on the legendary crew. Well, the issue was also with her abilities. 』

Mom's abilities. From what I can tell from the diaries she had two specialties.

The first is her devil fruit ability. Mom was a recovery human, who ate the Paramecia Chiyu-Chiyu fruit. This is how she got her name Chiyu-Hime; the Healer princess.

But Mom could only heal injuries. If she was able to heal diseases, she wrote, she would have been able to do something about Rodger's disease.

Another was the Kenbunshoku no Haki. Just like Aisa, Mom was able to use Kenbunshoku since birth. This was why the diary didn't have anything on how to unlock Haki. There is no reason to unlock it, if you could use it from the start. I don't know what she did with Busoshoku though.

Yeah… those are not abilities that people would desperately want her alive for. I mean, healing is very useful, but not this much…..

Would Jii-chan know something? Actually, he most likely won't answer me.

Dammit, why are there so many unknowns around me?

"Huh? I know this person?"

Ace spoke from behind me, as he looked at the poster. Behind him was a teary eyed Luffy.

Oh, I see Ace won the fight for the meat. …wait!

"You knew her!?"

Ace knew Mom!?

"Ye-yeah."

He seemed a little taken aback at my enthusiasm.

"Yeah, it was a long time ago, but I still remember it. She came all the way up here. This person was you Mom…. Huh, now that I think about it, her stomach was a bit big."

I moved my gaze from Ace to Dadan, who was nodding along.

"About 6 years ago. Just before you were born. She said came to check on Aim. I mean, she used to be part of the Pirate King's old crew. It wouldn't have been too farfetched for her to have known….Then Garp brought you here, and I learned that she was his daughter for the first time."

Eh, then that means….

"That was about Ace"

"What do you mean?"

"The kid that she talked about in the diary."

At this point, both Sabo and Luffy knew about Mom's diary. Ace already knew, and this is something that I'm ok having Dadan know about it.

"There was a page near the end. It said 『I met a very cute kid today』."

"I, I'm not cute!"

Ace yelled out in embarrassment…Yeah, he's cute.

But I never thought Ace and Mom would have met before.

"But Ace, you would have been about 4. How did you remember all that?"

Ace avoided my line of sight at my comment.

"…She was the first…."

He muttered.

"The first one….. that was nice to me."

Ah, I see.

Dadan and the rest don't show kindness easily. I understand that, since I too grew up here.

Jii-chan is….. yeah, he believes he's showing caring through his actions but…. For the people on the receiving end…..

Anyway. I looked at the poster again.

Something is up. There are too many signs to ignore it. The prices that rise without doing anything… Being wanted 『ALIVE』.

But I can't figure anything out with this small amount of knowledge.

It may not be something that relates directly to me…. But I'm still curious.

Will the day come that this mystery is solved?


	23. Chapter 22: Manipulation

As training, the four of us fight 150 times a day.

In canon, it was 100 fights a day, but it increased because there are four of us.

If Ace and Sabo fight, they are a pretty even match. Ace is a little stronger, but it's fairly close together. Such a healthy rivalry.

Right now, I've never won against either of them. While I'm kind of frustrated about it, it's better than Luffy.

Luffy has not won against Ace, Sabo, nor me. I'm stronger than Luffy! Don't think about how my opponent is still a 7-year-old child. I was really happy!...The person in question was frustrated though… A lot of the times, Luffy tries to use his rubber powers, and takes himself out.

Anyway, these were how most days went until one time.

The tenryuubito visit to Goa.

I saw the news in paper, and thought about what would happen next.

I have been watching the news, trying to determine when this event would happen.

But just because I see it in the news, it doesn't mean I can really do anything about it. The days went by like normal.

Then….

* * *

"They're dining and dashing!"

The four of us ran from a restraint waitress.

Time has passed since the last chapter, and we became the demon quartet. Luffy is one of us now!

We've started dining and dashing all the time now.

It would have gone like a normal day but…. That time came.

"Sabo!? Is that you? Wait! You were alive!?"

A fat middle-aged man called after us… More specifically, to Sabo.

Sabo's expression froze, and I understood. …So that's the shitty noble guy.

But we pretended to be strangers, and ran away.

And so that's why we're in this situation now.

Ace and Luffy started to press Sabo for information, demanding that it's not okay to have secrets between us.

Sorry guys, I'm hiding a lot too. Like knowing the future…

Sabo looked very uncomfortable. It would take a lot of courage to admit that they've been lying for a long time. So.

"Sabo… You're a noble's son, aren't you?"

I instigated the conversation. Everyone's attention was drawn to me, as I have been sitting and listening until now.

"How…?"

Sabo had paled considerably.

Because I know canon…. Like I'm going to tell him that. So I gave a reasonable answer.

"I never thought that Sabo was an orphan that came from Gray Terminal to begin with. You had too much of an education to be one."

I gave a sour grin, and lied.

I mean, people say that almost everyone in Japan gets a basic education. Close to a 100% are able to read. But in this world, that is not true. While it's not low, it is definitely not 100%.

Gray Terminal especially… it's worse of a place than the slums are. I could understand if it's an adult that ended up there, but an orphan child being able to read is strange. Even then, Sabo could read and write way better than Ace or Luffy.

Me? I'm a reincarnated person. I know how to read. While this world uses the alphabet, English is part of standard curriculum of a Japanese high schooler. I had something to work with.

But he knew other things, like sailing and medicine.

Meaning, Sabo had way too many special knowledges to be an orphan.

"So, I had suspected that your past was not exactly what you were telling us. …And that man was probably, no, definitely a noble. Judging by how he spoke, that man…. Sabo, he's your father. Am I wrong?"

"No… You're right."

Sabo looked down in shame.

"If you knew, why didn't you say?"

Well, I mean. I didn't really care to begin with. Besides.

"Whether you're a kid of the noble, or an orphan from the trash mountains, Sabo is Sabo."

What else is there to say?

Also, I'm hiding things about myself too. I'm in no position to say anything.

"I'm sorry, I lied to you all."

Sabo apologized, biting his lips.

Our individual reactions were very different.

I didn't really care to begin with, so no change. Luffy easily forgave when Sabo apologized.

Ace was the only one who held some doubts.

"If you were born in to the nobles, why did you come to the trash mountains…?"

That was probably not what he was more shocked about.

The more guarded the person is, the more they let it down with the person who has earned his trust. Being kept such a secret must have hurt him more than he let on.

If the reason Sabo lied was a stupid one, Ace would feel down for a while.

But Sabo ran because he couldn't stand to live as a noble anymore.

Sabo told us about his life as one of them.

How his parents only cared about money and land. Being treated like trash if he couldn't marry a royal.

…What shitty parents.

"I apologize to you guys for saying this, but even with parents, I was alone."

It must have hurt. Being alone doesn't have to mean that there were no other humans around him.

I think it's stupid to want to be a noble due to the flashy looks and life style. The real duty of royalty and nobility are a heavy weight. The path of those who abandoned such duty is known throughout history. Weather it's years, decades, or centuries after today.

At least Ace seemed to be placated by that explanation.

What Sabo really wanted was freedom. That was why he wanted to be a pirate. To travel freely around the world and write a book about it….. That is Sabo's dream.

That seemed to push Ace and Luffy to shout out their own dreams.

Ace wants to spread his name. To make people accept him for who he is. I get it… It's a good dream…but I can't take my mind off the Summit War.

Saying what he really wanted was not spreading his name right before he died…

But I can't say anything when he's telling us with such fiery eyes. And also, there is no point if he doesn't figure it out on his own.

I sighed discreetly. Looks like the Mera-Mera fruit chose the correct person, such conviction from a young age… probably doesn't have anything to do with it.

We already know Luffy's dream. To be Pirate King. He never changes.

….? Why are they looking at me? Do I have to say my dream too?

"My dream… Is to change history."

"Ah! You said that the first time we met too! What does it mean?"

Luffy asked. Huh, I did say that, didn't I?

"It's just what it sounds like. History… I guess it's better to say future? I want to create a new future…. After that, I would want to see the world. There would be a lot of cool things everywhere. But I don't know if I want a pirate crew. Pirate sounds fun, but I'm not interested in captain."

My dream… More like goal, but I want to change the future… the Summit war. I'm not lying. More importantly.

"Leaving me aside…. All three of you want to be captains? Isn't that bad?"

Didn't they talk about this in canon too? The three looked to each other.

"True…"

"Sabo, I thought you were going to be my navigator."

"Ehh, why don't you all join _my_ crew?"

Aah, they're all making such cute frowny faces. …?

"Why are you guys staring at me?"

It's getting scary at how their eyes are boring into me.

"Yuwan! Whose ship are you riding!?"

"My ship, right!?"

"No, mine!"

…..Eh?


	24. Chapter 23: Brothers

Let's clarify the situation.

We all yelled out our dreams→ I am being recruited to be a pirate.

Why did this happen!?

"Ehh~… calm down you guys."

The three of them are staring at me seriously. Think about it. I'm being stared down by three people who are taller than I am.

Wouldn't you want them to stop too?

"First of all, why am I riding one of your ships?"

I never said that.

But all three of them kept yelling recruitments at me.

Their argument was: If I think pirate is fun, but I don't want to be captain, then I would be riding someone's ship. Doesn't that mean one of the three of them?

I mean, I _did_ say that pirate sounds fun. But I never said I wanted to be one. I could just be a bounty hunter.

Most likely to the three of them, going by their reactions, it's an instinctual competition of 'wanting to be chosen'. I don't think they're thinking too deeply about pirates or the future.

Being chosen by someone that is like a younger brother would mean that whoever is chosen is a reliable big brother figure. So it's a fight for their pride. …What even if my life.

…I mean, I'm not a psychologist, so I can't tell that far.

"I wasn't really thinking about it."

All three looked like they were emotionally shocked that I didn't chose….Really!? You guys are making me feel bad, even if I didn't do anything wrong!

But if I think about it…. It's a big deal. I'm being recruited by the future火拳(Hiken) and麦わら(Mugiwara) and Sabo!

…Yeah, that doesn't really matter now.

It's not a bad choice for my future though.

If I left this island after my 17th birthday, the Summit war would already be over. It would be better for me to come on someone else's ship, rather than setting sail early because of extreme circumstances.

I will most likely not be able to set sail with Sabo. While I plan on stopping the Tenryuubito attack, I don't plan on stopping Sabo's ship. I won't be able to.

Going with Ace or Luffy. I would have a higher chance of making it to the Summer war. If I go with Luffy, I can just grab on when Kuma teleports us, and I don't even need to go into detail about Ace. With my abilities, it's not impossible.

That may be a good plan.

But they have their own shortcomings.

If I go with Ace, I will definitely make it to the Summit war. Because the Spade Pirates that Ace put together get absorbed into the Whitebeard pirates. But then when I set sail, I would be 13 years old. I'm not strong enough.

Eh? If I try hard enough and go would Ace, I can stop Teach and prevent the war entirely?... Ace was a Logia type, and he still lost. What the heck am I supposed to do against such an opponent? If something were to happen and I die instead, Ace would definitely go after him. I don't want to be in Thatch's position. My chances are low to begin with. I am not going to risk it more.

Going with Luffy means that I get to train for 3 more years. But the chances of me making it to the war goes down. Kuma may still teleport us separately.

Looking at Ace and Luffy individually…. Yeah, No, I can't. I love them both.

What to do, what to do…..mm?

"What are you guys doing?"

While I was thinking about my future choices deeply, the three of them were having a _very_ heated fight…. With rock paper scissors.

"Whoever wins gets to make Yuwan their first nakama!"

Luffy smiled brightly…Oi!

"What am I, some kind of a prize!? Don't make choices without my consent!"

Eh, is my fate going to be chosen with a game if rock paper scissors!?

"And? Who won?"

"Me!"

…Ah, that's why his smile and expression were shining so brightly.

I sighed inwardly.

Crap, this is the only time I can decide.

I am already thinking in the direction that I'm going to set sail with either Ace or Luffy. But I need to make a decision now, or it will be Luffy. Knowing him, he will never let me change it later. Ace wouldn't either, because the decision was already made.

Either take the longer training time, or higher chance to make it to the war… Alright, I made my choice.

"Luffy"

"? What is it?"

Luffy tilted his head at my serious voice.

"Luffy, sorry, I…"

I was going with Ace. I can train while I sail. As long as I make it to Marineford.

Luffy's face was pulled tighter, as he waited for my next words. On the other hand, Ace and Sabo's expressions perked up a bit in hope.

"I….."

I want to be Ace's nakama…..I tried to say, but something stopped me. What was it?

Sailing with Ace….sailing…..sailing…..!?

"Yuwan?"

Luffy peered into my face as I stopped talking and froze. I took his hands and gripped them hard.

"Let's go together!"

The complete opposite of what I was about to say a few seconds ago came out of my mouth.

"Of course!"

Luffy nodded energetically, relieved at my decision.

""Ehhhhhh!?""

Ace and Sabo's eyes were blown wide in surprise.

"Can't be helped, right!? You won the fight, didn't you!? Great job Luffy!"

I was desperate. It would be bad if they ask why I chose him.

I'm going to keep the reason as it is now, that Luffy won.

Because I just remembered what happens in Ace's voyage in canon…..

During the Spade pirate era, _that_ event happened.

That event…. Ace goes to say thank you to the person who saved Luffy's life!

I won't! I don't want to meet 『赤髪(Red Haired)』 Shanks! It's scary!

To be honest, the reason why Mom asked Jii-chan for help was written in the diary.

Mom left the crew about half a year before my birth. The reason was that she had a fight with their captain…. That's Shanks, isn't it!?

I don't know the specifics. I don't know if it was a fight between a captain and a crew member…. Or a fight between a man and a woman.

The former wouldn't be a problem, but if it was the latter….I don't know what to say.

And the most import important line was written in the diary. It said 『I wasn't able to tell him something important』.

…What is this important thing….?

I can already guess…

Like I said before, Mom, please write things down clearly. See, this is the reason why I tried to run so much from reality… But I guess I can't do anything about it. I mean, a diary is not meant for other people to read, anyway.

But if what's on the diary is correct, then my existence is unknown to anyone. My last name is 『Monkey D』, and my face looks like this!? If he has some reason to believe it, then he would definitely notice!

If I meet him like this, it would be so awkward! I don't even know what he thinks about me or Mom!

I'm not prepared for such a scary task. At least, not now.

It's sad how this is the reason why I chose Luffy over Ace. But it's the truth.

Alright, I'm going to train hard! So I can get to the war without a doubt!

* * *

Anyway, the time has come for that scene.

Ace stole a bottle of Sake from Dadan.

"Did you guys know? If you share drinks, you can become brothers."

We're exchanging cups of brotherhood! I have one too!

I couldn't believe such a day would come….. especially not with a start like 『So, that's the reason I need you to reincarnate (*'ω' *) 』. I never thought I would be part of this.

"From today on, we're brothers!"

The sound of our cups clinking together seemed to echo across the forest.

Eh? Does that mean I'm the youngest? The baby brother?

….Its fine though. I kind of like the sound of 'little brother'.

* * *

A/N:

This is how Yuwan ends up deciding on Luffy's ship.

Shanks doesn't know about Yuwan, but he loved Lumina. He doesn't know what happened to her either, but wants to meet her again. Shanks himself would most likely be excited to meet his son, but Yuwan doesn't know, and he's really unsure of how to approach this subject, leading to why he doesn't want to meet his Dad.

Translator's A/N:

This is as far as I can update at this moment. I rushed through so many chapters, I don't know if I had correctly been able to transfer all the emotions and thoughts in the piece. I will not be available until December of this year, but there are a lot more chapters that I haven't got to yet, so the story is not abandoned. Please leave your thoughts. I may not answer, but I will still read them and take opinions into account.


End file.
